19th April, 2024
Making it big in the music industry is undoubtedly difficult, especially when a global pandemic puts the breaks on your career. Striking gold takes talent, hard work and good management, which is definitely easier said than done. Luckily for us, it’s 2021. We no longer rely on the massive corporate radio station to pick up good music and broadcast it to propel the artists’ career into fame. We have the internet now! We can receive and share recommendations and shape our algorithms to feed us more of what we love.
Of course, there’s always those who slip through the cracks. For some reason or another, some incredible musicians don’t get the traction they should, despite years upon years of hard work.
As I’m sure you have gathered from the title, I have compiled a list of artists and bands I believe in which deserve your attention.
Cub sport
If you listen to Triple J, you’ve likely heard ‘Come On Mess Me Up‘ and ‘Be Your Man‘, but personally, I think their best work is on their self-titled record from 2019. The dreamy lyricism and production on tracks like ‘Trees‘ (a personal favourite) make their work stand out from the rest of the Aussie indie-pop blur. They’ve been on the scene making and performing their music for years. From what I’ve seen, they’re incredible performers. They’re working harder than anyone else, and they deserve all the recognition for that.
Phoebe Bridgers
Admittedly, I started listening to Phoebe Bridgers because one of her songs (Motion Sickness) was used as a Tik Tok trend. Those 15 seconds got stuck in my head, so I listened to the whole song. And then I listened to it again. And again. And again.
She’s been nominated for a handful of Grammys in the last few years, including best new artist and record of the year. She’s pretty well known in the US, I think. Australia. Obama included her track ‘Kyoto‘ on his favourite music of 2020 list. But I don’t hear about her enough. I adore her work for the way she takes seemingly mundane experiences and shapes them into stunning lyrics and heartfelt music.
E^ST
You know her track ‘Life Goes On‘. You heard it blasted all over the radio for all of 2017. But you might not have heard from her since. She put out an album last year titled ‘I’M DOING IT‘, which ended up being one of my favourite releases of 2020. Overall, her work is refreshingly upbeat, witty and hopeful, but she can also master more solemn performances. For example, last year, she did this marvellous cover of Joji’s ‘SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK’ for Triple J’s Like A Version. She’s undoubtedly a stellar artist, both in terms of ability and presence.
Kaitlin Keegan
If you like Phoebe Bridgers, you’ll like Kaitlin Keegan. Kaitlin Keegan is the creator of my favourite crying song. By memory, my Dad came across her track ‘Emma‘ on Youtube in 2018. We checked it out because my sister’s name is Emma, and we thought it’d be a lovely cute song to show her. I was sobbing by the second verse because the lyrics to that song resonate with me so directly. I really don’t think I’ve ever played that song without tearing up. Every track on her 2018 EP ‘Sadisco‘ is lovely in a lyrical sense, but what stands out for me is her vocal tone and melody. Another stand-out track on that EP is ‘Alto‘. Her voice radiates comfort and familiarity in a way that I’ve never come across anywhere else.
Daniel Caesar
He’s a featured artist on many massive mainstream tracks, including Justin Beiber’s recent hit, ‘Peaches‘. I’m sure that at some point, you’ve heard a song or two from TikTok. But listen to his solo work. He makes the most beautiful love songs and has the warmest, most soothing vocals. His last album had all of the great lyricism of his past work, plus more a more progressive production approach.
Gang of Youths
I hope to god you remember seeing the recording of the frontman, David Le’aupepe, performing “Let Me Down Easy” at Splendour in the Grass 2018. If not, here it is.
These guys have made 3 glorious albums so far, all of which are packed full of beautiful orchestral detail and prolific lyrics. They’ve swapped out some band members on the way, but so long as Dave is there, they’re going places.
Flowerkid
Every other artist on this list has done years of hard work and not gotten the recognition I think they deserve. Flowerkid is still very new, but this one’s special. He’s put out three songs on Spotify so far. His 2018 release, ‘boy with the winfields and the wild heart‘, is still one of my favourite songs of all time. Lyrically, it’s stunning, and it only gets that much more beautiful when you learn its meaning. His latest release, ‘miss andry‘, has thankfully been given the airtime it deserves on Triple J. I know big things are coming for Flowerkid.
Angie McMahon
I first happened upon the lovely work of Angie McMahon in 2019, when Youtube graciously recommended her song ‘Pasta‘ to me. Youtube hit the jackpot with that one. I adored the simplicity and honesty of the lyrics, the building rhythmic flow of the song, and the rawness of Angie’s voice. After she put out her 2019 album, ‘Salt‘, I was confident she’d blow up. Triple J gave ‘Pasta’ a solid amount of air time. Upsettingly, some of her more moving tracks, including ‘Slow Mover‘, ‘Soon‘ and ‘And I Am A Woman‘, didn’t receive the recognition that I believe they deserve. I can’t wait for more music from her.
Jessie Reyez
I first heard of Jessie Reyez when she performed on Jimmy Fallon in 2017, after putting out her flawless debut album ‘Kiddo‘. Her music is unapologetically emotional, feminist and experimental. She’s also been a featured artist on many big mainstream hits over the last few years, including Sam Smith’s track ‘Promises‘ and 6LACK‘s track ‘Imported‘. She’s released three albums since 2017, which feature a myriad of highly successful artists. Still, she is yet to make herself a household name. She has well and indeed done the work and deserves recognition for it.
Pacific Avenue
I think I came across Pacific Avenue after a friend sent me their song ‘Excuse Me‘. I fell in love with the rise and fall flow of the guitar on that track, and it’s still my favourite track of theirs for that reason. They’ve put a handful of singles out since 2017, as well as their 2019 EP, ‘Strawberry Skies‘. They make some variation of indie surf-rock, so if you like Spacey Jane, Ocean Alley or Lime Cordiale, you’ll love these guys too. I had the privilege of interviewing them last year, and I can confirm that not only do they make great feel-good music, but they’re also a friendly and hard-working bunch.
I’ve graciously created a playlist of songs that I enjoy from each of these artists, so you can hit shuffle instead of taking my word for it.
