There’s been a lot of talk recently about how female singers or bands made up of women don’t seem to get as much traction as male oriented music. To try and put this right, I thought it would be a good opportunity to make a list of some of the best underground songs sung by women that I’ve discovered in recent months!
Review by Jane Howkins
Picture by Nadia Kazmi
Nadia Kazmi – Have You Here
Have You Here is the first song on my list, sung by the fantastic Canadian artist, Nadia Kazmi. It’s a pop song with an 80s vibe, featuring huge drum beats alongside a wonderful selection of synths and guitar melodies. Nadia’s vocals are very strong and you can really feel the emotion within them – her lyrics are very heartfelt too. This is a very strong contender, thus making the top of this list!
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Super Fëmmes – Guilty Pleasure
Super Fëmmes are a Swedish girl group, making catchy electro pop music that will get inside your head instantly! They’ve got quite a classic girl band feel, although the electronic elements add a more modern vibe, making for a nice mix of sounds. The main melody that runs through the chorus is very catchy, seeing the vocal lines following it. One of the things that struck me most about Guilty Pleasure was how good the production quality sounds – the rapping towards the end is a nice touch too!
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Lissy Taylor – Healer
Healer combines a variety of different genres into one, making for an immense overall package! Lissy Taylor’s addition to this list mixes pop, rock and indie together, turning her song into a catchy tune that truly rocks! Her vocals are quite unique sounding, but they suit the style of music well, as a driving rhythm pushes the song along to its satisfying conclusion. The little guitar melodies that spiral through the track build up well to the heavier chorus.
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Sabreen Islam – you will never see this
you will never see this is quite a stripped-down track, with the little palm-muted guitar melodies making it sound quite minimalist, until the percussion and backing effects kick in. There’s actually a lot more going on here than first appears, as synths play in the background alongside the percussion and guitars. Sabreen Islam’s vocals are soft and sweet, adding a nice ambience to the piece.
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Ariahindream – Inside
The curiously titled Ariahindream has released a stunning new song in the form of Inside, a slow song that combines together different genres, including pop, trip-hop, electronic music and a touch of the avant-garde! Her vocals are long and drawn out, providing a textural quality alongside the intriguing backing effects and the distinctive percussion style. It won’t be for everyone, but those into their more experimental music should find something to ponder here.
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DeEtta Jain – Leaning
Leaning is quite an interesting song, as it draws greatly from the 80s pop scene (particularly with the bass and saxophone), yet it’s also got more of a modern r&b sound. Little vocal breakdowns appear every so often to allow the saxophone to shine through, before the vocals arrive again, with some slightly discordant backing effects used to create a dreamy feel on DeEtta Jain’s addition to this list. Again, it’s another experimental listen, but one well worth your time!
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Una Jensen – Making Moves
Una Jensen’s track is one for you pop aficionados, fitting in with the mainstream pop genre, yet also having a distinctive r&b sound. Making Moves is a catchy track, especially on the chorus, which sees the main refrain being repeated over and over again, working its way inside your head. The backing synths have a textural feel, as does the percussion, which sounds unlike anything else I’ve ever heard before!
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Black Pixels – Tide
Black Pixels are a 5-piece post-pop band from London, also having some indie pop qualities in their music. The vocals have a deep quality at times, making them sound rather soulful. Little guitar melodies play in and out of the music as the beat drops every so often in a jazzy way. It’s catchy yet still sounds quite minimalist, despite there being a great deal going on in the background of Tide. This will appeal to indie fans of all sub-genres.
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Geena Gangi – The Nice Guy
The Nice Guy is another song for all you popheads, having a catchy melody from the start that will make you want to get up and dancing straight away! Geena Gangi has a fantastic singing voice, sounding smooth and soulful throughout. The verses are a little lighter, with an interesting bass melody running through them, before the chorus kicks in, sounding very upbeat and fresh. The production quality sounds great too!
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Sharl – 3 Words
If you’ve kept a watchful eye on this site recently, you’ll most likely have heard us singing the praises of singer Sharl. Her music is great, and 3 Words is no exception to this rule! It’s a pop song with a country music twang – the main chord sequence has a hauntingly beautiful sound, especially when mixed with Sharl’s amazing vocals. You can really feel the emotion in her voice and the guitar solos turn the track into more of a rock song, full of intensity.
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Amber T – Tightrope
Amber T has a fantastic voice, belting out the lyrics to Tightrope over the huge production sound she’s developed as part of her signature sound. The music has a wall of sound effect, building up into the chorus with joy, showing that Amber has one of those voices that seems to only come around once in a blue moon. The track also has a sense of rock and roll attitude that is often missing from modern pop music, making it a delight to be heard.
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Nemesis – Tigress
Nemesis is a rapper from the Los Angeles area, with a hard-hitting lyrical style that aims to enlighten her listeners. Tigress has an intense sound, with a traditional hip-hop percussive beat underpinning the track, apart from the breakdowns. The synths in the background have an eerie and mystical vibe, with so much going on that you’ll have to listen to it a few times to take everything in! The vocals are spat out, showing a fantastic flow from Nemesis on this belter of a tune.
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Maya Salafia – Everlasting
Everlasting is one of the few songs on this list with a folky vibe, starting out with a gorgeous fingerpicked acoustic guitar melody. Maya Salafia’s vocals arrive soon after, as more layers are slowly added. The fingerpicker guitar soon changes into a strummed rhythm, picking the pace up as the chorus arrives, changing the dynamics in a nice way as the song becomes more upbeat. It’s great to hear an artist capable of seamlessly combining multiple genres like this!
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Selina Borland – Not Another Timid Soul
Selina Borland describes her music as ‘folk-pop with a touch of the Atlantic Ocean breeze’, which is an oddly apt description of Not Another Timid Soul! It starts out with a bouncy acoustic guitar melody, before the chorus changes things up a little. Selina has a good vocal range and the positive vibes the song exudes are simply infectious, making it sound catchier than ever!
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