Women On Vox is our series highlighting talented ladies in music by tipping over 100 brilliant bands where women take centre stage.
Over the previous four installments we’ve tipped a cool 100 artists. Part 1 celebrated the female flair of some of our guitar-driven favourites, before Part 2 took a sugary turn, featuring alt-pop and electropop picks.
Wednesday’s Part 3 starred fiery women from the worlds of punk, grunge, rock and riot grrl, while Part 4 flaunted the melancholy of the dream pop and shoegaze that we adore.
Part 5 profiles the final 25, from a varied pool of genres and headlined by several of the bands that we didn’t mention elsewhere but just couldn’t leave out.
There’s some big hitters that indie music followers will surely know already – and if you don’t, make it your priority to do so – as well as a few fledgling picks, including one or two ladies we think might do exciting things in the future.
As always, we’ve included profiles of every artist from FEISTY editor and Women On Vox assembler Katy, plus a few vital statistics and the discography you’d need to collect each band’s entire essential output.
Read on for Part 5, or alternatively skip straight to the music with our Spotify playlist:
The Big Moon
In a sentence: High-profile indie rock foursome that had a massive 2017, topped by the release of their celebrated first full-length Love in the 4th Dimension.
We’ve picked: Debut album opener Sucker, originally featured on their 2016 The Road EP.
Hometown: London, UK
Vocalist: Juliette “Jules” Jackson
Spotify followers: 22,450
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – Love In The 4th Dimension (2017); EPs – Acoustic (2017), The Road (2016); Singles – Happy New Year (2017), Formidable / Hold This (2017), It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of Year (2016), Silent Movie Susie / Beautiful Stranger (2016), Cupid / Something Beautiful (2016)
Desperate Journalist
In a sentence: Powerful post-punk from an underrated British band that excel through tight instrumental work, able production and Jo Bevan’s articulate vocals.
We’ve picked: It Gets Better, a single released in January 2018. Resolution, from their second album Grow Up, is another favourite.
Hometown: London, UK
Vocalist: Jo Bevan
Spotify followers: 3,646
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – Grow Up (2017), Desperate Journalist (2014); EPs – Good Luck (2015), Cristina (2013); Singles – It Gets Better (2018), A Phase (2016), Hesitate (2015), Happening / Vengeance (2013), Organ / Distance (2013)
Hinds
In a sentence: A garage band that emerged from the rarely-heralded Spanish scene to conquer the global stage, blending their slack female harmonies with jangly guitars for wonderful lo-fi results.
We’ve picked: New For You. It’s from I Don’t Run, the second album set for release early next month.
Hometown: Madrid, ES
Vocalists: Carlotta Cosials, Ana Perrote
Spotify followers: 58,176
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – Leave Me Alone (2016); EPs – Very Best Of Hinds So Far (2015); Singles – The Club (2018), New For You (2018), Caribbean Moon (2017), Holograma (2016), Barns (2014); Splits – El Sueño De Benilandia (2017), Hinds ♡ Parrots (2015); Demos – Demo (2014)
The Beaches
In a sentence: Peppy alternative rock songsmiths that first appeared as a teen pop-punk band before seriously stepping up with their punchy debut album.
We’ve picked: The insatiable fuzz-pop of T-Shirt, taken from the aforementioned first full-length Late Show.
Hometown: Toronto, CA
Vocalist: Jordan Miller
Spotify followers: 5,610
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – Late Show (2017); EPs – Heights (2014), The Beaches (2013); Singles – I Love You All The Time (2016)
The Courtneys
In a sentence: Vancouver trio creating lush power pop that’s firmly underlined by frizzy guitars and inspired by Teenage Fanclub and Pavement.
We’ve picked: Lost Boys from The Courtneys II, a nostalgic track that demonstrates their preference for a breezy instrumental break. The music video features a shorter cut.
Hometown: Vancouver, CA
Vocalist: Jen Twynn Payne
Spotify followers: 9,203
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – The Courtneys II (2017), The Courtneys (2013); Singles – Mars Attacks (2014), K.C. Reeves (2012)
Alvvays
In a sentence: Jangle pop favourites producing fluffy, thickly-layered sounds that were misty on their debut before taking on a gleamier finish on album number two.
We’ve picked: Plimsoll Punks, our favourite single from last year’s Antisocialites.
Hometown: Toronto, CA
Vocalist: Molly Rankin
Spotify followers: 130,078
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – Antisocialites (2017), Alvvays (2014); EPs – Alvvays (2018); Singles – Adult Diversion / Underneath Us (2013)
INHEAVEN
In a sentence: Although bass guitarist Chloe Little doesn’t always take on lead vocals for INHEAVEN – she shares that duty with James Taylor – we’re such fans of both their early lo-fi and more polished alternative rock that we couldn’t not mention them.
We’ve picked: Drift, a stupendously brilliant indie pop song. For one of Chloe’s fierier solo leads, try Treats.
Hometown: London, UK
Vocalists: Chloe Little, James Taylor
Spotify followers: 7,646
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – INHEAVEN (2017); EPs – Acoustic (2017); Singles – Sweet Dreams Baby (2018), Treats / Wasted My Life On Rock N Roll (2017), Baby’s Alright / Meat Somebody (2016), Bitter Town / Tangerine (2015), Regeneration / Slow (2015)
Gurr
In a sentence: Warm garage pop duo from Berlin, taking cues from ’60s girl groups and recording sprightly sounds that retain an organic charm by avoiding an overpolished finish.
We’ve picked: Moby Dick, from their debut album In My Head. The Vivian Girls style girl group influences are worn most openly on album cut Rollerskate.
Hometown: Berlin, DE
Vocalist: Andreya Casablanca
Spotify followers: 7,889
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – In My Head (2016); EPs – Furry Dream (2015), Gurr (2014); Singles – Walnuss / Walnuts (2016); Splits – Burnt Palms / Gurr (2014)
Diet Cig
In a sentence: A cute clash of the usually irreconcilable worlds of garage and pop-punk, with urgent guitars from Noah Bowman and animated vocals from Alex Luciano.
We’ve picked: Link in Bio, lifted from their Swear I’m Good At This debut album.
Hometown: New Paltz, NY, USA
Vocalist: Alex Luciano
Spotify followers: 32,259
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – Swear I’m Good At This (2017); EPs – Over Easy (2015); Singles – Sleep Talk / Dinner Date (2015)
ørmstons
In a sentence: Noisy indie rock newcomers fronted by Leeds girl-around-the-scene Jess Huxham, and – as revealed by their bouncy debut single – ones to keep an eye on.
We’ve picked: Bridgewater Way is the only track they’re released to date.
Hometown: Leeds, UK
Vocalist: Jess Huxham
Spotify followers: 62
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Singles – Bridgewater Way (2017)
PINS
In a sentence: Manchester five-piece who’ve blazed a trail since 2011 with their brand of gritty, hook-rich, and initially self-produced indie rock.
We’ve picked: Serve The Rich, their seething – yet still fabulously earworm – protest single from last year.
Hometown: Manchester, UK
Vocalist: Faith Holgate
Spotify followers: 7,721
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – Wild Nights (2015), Girls Like Us (2013); EPs – Bad Thing (2017), LUVU4LYF (2012); Singles – Serve The Rich / LUVU4LYF (2017), Trouble / I’ll Get Mine (2016), Hybrid Moments (2015)
Zuzu
In a sentence: We’re big fans of this Liverpool solo prospect, whose impassioned guitar pop has been streamed hundreds of thousands of times on Spotify to date.
We’ve picked: Get Off, her 2016 debut single. It’s been over a year since she last released fresh material, cooling a bit of the hype, but as she’s about to go back on the road we’re hopeful we’ll be hearing something new soon.
Hometown: Liverpool, UK
Spotify followers: 1,618
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Singles – What You Want (2017), Get Off (2016)
The Seamonsters
In a sentence: Six glittery teens creating slender indie pop music, something of a local phenomenon in hometown Sheffield and sure to be noticed elsewhere in the future.
We’ve picked: Wonderland, the debut, demo-like single released last July.
Hometown: Sheffield, UK
Vocalist: Naomi Mann
Spotify followers: 513
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Singles – Max And Archie (2017), Lost (And Found) (2017), Wonderland (2017)
Dear Rouge
In a sentence: Indie electronica from spouse duo Danielle and Drew McTaggart that’s an instant fit for the alternative dancefloor.
We’ve picked: Modern Shakedown, the second single from new album Phases, with its sensational shades of Goldfrapp.
Hometown: Vancouver, CA
Vocalist: Danielle McTaggart
Spotify followers: 7,728
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – Phases (2018), Black To Gold (2015); EPs – Dear Rouge (2015), Kids Wanna Know (2012), Heads Up! Watch Out! (2012); Singles – Tongues (2015)
Leggy
In a sentence: Accurately labelling themselves as “lush punk”, Leggy are razor-edged children of ’90s rock that also cite Lana Del Rey, about whom they’ve recorded a song, as an influence.
We’ve picked: Not What You Need, their most recent single. (Even Lana from Leggy is the song about Del Rey, by the way.)
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH, USA
Vocalists: Veronique Allaer, Kerstin Bladh
Spotify followers: 1,473
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – Leggy (2016); EPs – Dang (2016), Nice Try (2016), Cavity Castle (2014); Singles – Not What You Need (2017)
Dolores Haze
In a sentence: Swedish girl band that released magnetising, essential feminine noise rock until they made a sudden jolt into sleazy electropop territory last year.
We’ve picked: Their personal anthem The Haze Is Forever, taken from the 2016 debut full-length of the same name. Their most recent single, White House, is one of the most remarkable shifts in genre we’ve heard from a band ever.
Hometown: Stockholm, SE
Vocalist: Groovy Nickz
Spotify followers: 2,472
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – The Haze Is Forever (2016); EPs – Dolores Haze X Stand For Something (2015), Accidental (2014), I Did Not Kill Sam (2013); Singles – White House (2017), Touch Me (2015)
Kindling
In a sentence: Noisy dreamers from the States that customarily fuse Gretchen Williams’ celestial vocals with a heavy soaking of reverb and weighty guitar lines.
We’ve picked: Destroy Yrself, from second album Hush.
Hometown: Easthampton, MA, USA
Vocalist: Gretchen Williams, Stephen Pierce
Spotify followers: 1,071
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – Hush (2017), Everywhere Else (2016); EPs – No Generation (2017), Galaxies (2015), Spike & Wave (2014); Splits – Kindling / Kestrels (2017)
Anti Pony
In a sentence: Wistful indie pop with a provocative punch, dripping in retro vibes and highlighted by Sanna Colling’s yearning vocal style.
We’ve picked: Love Can’t Make You Stay (Can’t Fuck My Heart Away), a 2017 single.
Hometown: Stockholm, SE
Vocalist: Sanna Colling
Spotify followers: 221
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: EPs – Alexander (2017); Singles – Love Can’t Make You Stay (Can’t Fuck My Heart Away) (2017), There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (2017), Under The Palm Trees (2016), I Go Places / Cry On The Floor (2015)
Soccer Mommy
In a sentence: Lifelong musician Sophie Allison’s glistening bedroom pop project, infusing folksy guitar vibes with her delicate, reflective vocals.
We’ve picked: Your Dog, the popular single from Clean, the album released – with the help of her band – earlier this month.
Hometown: Nashville, TN, USA
Vocalist: Sophie Allison
Spotify followers: 17,336
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – Clean (2018), For Young Hearts (2016); EPs – Songs From My Bedroom (Pt. 2) (2016); Songs From My Bedroom (2016); Songs For The Recently Sad (2015); Compilations – Collection (2017)
Bruiser Queen
In a sentence: Drum-driven duo with a perky discography of garage pop, rock-and-roll and – in their own words – “1960s girl group shimmy”.
We’ve picked: Sugar High, the opener from their third album Heavy High.
Hometown: St. Louis, MO, USA
Vocalist: Morgan Nusbaum
Spotify followers: 524
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – Heavy High (2017), Sweet Static (2015), Swears (2012); EPs – In Your Room (2013)
Thunderpussy
In a sentence: Four tenacious women playing proper rock-and-roll that overflows with fleshy guitar riffs, barefaced solos and Molly Sides’ commanding vocals.
We’ve picked: Speed Queen, the opener to their new Greatest Tits EP. Their self-titled debut album, after years of being asked about it, is finally expected this year.
Hometown: Seattle, WA, USA
Vocalist: Molly Sides
Spotify followers: 3,133
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: EPs – Greatest Tits (2018); Singles – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (2017), No Heaven (2017)
Sheer Mag
In a sentence: Tina Halladay’s dominant, unvarnished vocals combine with hotfooting riffs to create a unique sound, while their deeply expressive lyrical content speaks of social justice, attacking racism and celebrating the Stonewall riots.
We’ve picked: The impossibly catchy Need to Feel Your Love, title track to Sheer Mag’s first full-length.
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA, USA
Vocalist: Tina Halladay
Spotify followers: 12,938
Links: Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – Need To Feel Your Love (2017); EPs – III (2016), II (2015), I (2014)
Bonander
In a sentence: Dramatic, gently experimental synthpop highlighted by Ellinor Sterner’s sharp vocal lustre.
We’ve picked: Quit Everything and Become a Princess, her challenge to gender norms. A music video was released on International Women’s Day last week.
Hometown: Stockholm, SE
Vocalist: Ellinor Sterner
Spotify followers: 165
Links: Facebook • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Singles – Quit Everything And Become A Princess / Sterner (2017), The Oracle / Safe (2017), Blindfolded (2017)
Pixx
In a sentence: Astounding dark-toned electropop – with shades of folktronica and more experimental genres thrown in – from 4AD’s new ethereal heroine Hannah Rodgers.
We’ve picked: I Bow Down, the opener to her wondrous debut album The Age of Anxiety.
Hometown: London, UK
Vocalist: Hannah Rodgers
Spotify followers: 6,725
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – The Age Of Anxiety (2017); EPs – Fall In (2015)
Wolf Alice
In a sentence: Concluding Women On Vox with a bang, no compendium of essential women in music can be complete without the towering and seminal talent of Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell.
We’ve picked: Beautifully Unconventional, the contagious second single from Visions of a Life. For something more vehement, check out Yuk Foo – or just delve into their entire discography.
Hometown: London, UK
Vocalist: Ellie Rowsell
Spotify followers: 198,415
Links: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Spotify
Selected discography: Albums – Visions Of A Life (2017), My Love Is Cool (2015); EPs – Creature Songs (2014), Blush (2013); Compilations – B-Sides, Demos and Shit (2016)
FEISTY’s Women On Vox was published between 12-16 March 2018. Like what you’ve heard? Think we missed something essential? Let us know, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
