With the rise of new music genres like lo-fi and dreampop within the last year, countless indie artists have been emerging to showcase immense talent and innovation. These five women are revolutionizing the indie genre. They’re good names to remember as their growth will only exponentiate in the coming months. They’re killing the game.
beabadoobee
At only 20 years old, beabadoobee shows striking maturity, artistic evolution and a true mastery of the indie genre. As a Filipino, she didn’t have many Asian female rockers to look up to, so she wants to be that beacon of light for girls like her who want to make music, but don’t necessarily fit into the status quo. Everything she’s created so far has been sublime. From her exclusively acoustic debut EP “Patched Up”, to the darker, more band-based “Loveworm” and the explosively nostalgic “Space Cadet,” her projects emphasize the great strides she is taking to become a true rockstar, complete with her own style and incredible band. Recently, she’s released two very different, but impressive, singles, the happy and 90s-esque “Care” and the personal, Alanis-Morrisette reminiscent “Sorry.” Though her voice is sweet and gentle, her music is passionate and eruptive. These two songs, the first tastes of her highly-anticipated album “Fake It Flowers,” being released Oct. 16, show versatility and promise, marking beabadoobee as an artist who you have to keep an eye out for.
mxmtoon
Another young Asian artist making waves in the indie genre, mxmtoon has grown ridiculously since her slightly immature, but lovable bedroom-style first singles, such as “1-800-DATEME” and “cliche.” She released her personal debut album, “the masquerade,” last year, and hasn’t taken any breaks. Her EP “dawn,” which sounds like summer in a few songs, was released in April of this year and her latest single “bon iver” was just released last month. It’s the first taste of her coming EP, “dusk,” which will, when coupled with “dawn,” depict the contrast between beginnings and endings. Although lyrically “bon iver” is not quite happy, portraying a lost mxmtoon in the midst of a heartbreak, it still sounds like sunshine in my ears. The backing ukulele and choir vocals are perfectly subtle and maintain mxmtoon’s style while introducing a fresh sound. The song isn’t flashy, like how I would describe a few tracks off of “dawn,” but are instead quiet and reflective. If this is what is to be expected from “dusk,” you should mark its release date, Oct.1, on your calendar. In the meantime, take a deep dive into her discography and see what gems you can find because, trust me, there are plenty.
Silver Sphere
Silver Sphere only has one EP and a couple of singles to her name, but it’s enough to get fans excited for her new music. She’s just released the indie electronic pop banger “handle me,” a song that anyone can dance to. Her honey-like voice, charming lyrics and catchy production make for an entertaining listen people can’t get enough of. Although she’s still working on finding her sound, she has a distinguishable style that could get her very far in the indie-pop world as she matures. Her EP “yikes!” contains several star tracks that can define her current sound well, like “boys in bands,” “lost cause” and “sucks 4 u.” Her songs are either soft and dreamy or electronic and poppy, but many prefer her softer side — just listen to “drinking games” or “take it away” and you’ll see why. When she’s not being drowned out in her production, Silver Sphere shows insane amounts of skill and potential. Throughout her relatively short discography, she is already showing much improvement and leaves fans looking hopefully into the future.
chloe moriondo
chloe moriondo’s last two singles are hands-down the best songs she’s ever made. “Manta Rays” and “I Want To Be With You” are amazing, both emanating a powerful, indie rock energy that makes you want to bounce around. “Manta Rays” is absolutely glorious; it’s a fantastically dreamy love song that has an intangible, smile-inducing power. “I Want To Be With You” is an impressive follow up, exploring a similar theme, but with a more aggressive, rock-style take. Both tracks feel like flawless bursts of serotonin. chloe moriondo has evolved incredibly since her 2018 EP “Rabbit Hearted.” I can only predict that she’ll get better and better, and in turn, bigger. Her indie sound is youthful, fresh and trendy, and it deserves loads more recognition.
girl in red
girl in red is one of those rare artists who has never released a bad song and whose songs never fail to top all of the earlier ones. Her last single “rue” is no exception. It’s startlingly different from what fans have known from girl in red. However, different can be good; it shows girl in red’s willingness to step out of the style which attracted fans in the first place in order to advance her artistic craft and use her potential. She is a true artist in all senses of the word, boasting singing, writing and production prowess, as well as a shameless identity she’s not afraid to share. She has made many songs focused on her sexuality, such as “girls,” “i wanna be your girlfriend” and “bad idea!” Her sexuality isn’t all she sings about; “rue” is girl in red’s desperate confession of mistakes and weaknesses and her promise to “make it work,” as the lyrics tell us. It’s a loud, dark song, distancing girl in red from the lo-fi, generally happy sound of her previous EPs, “Chapter 1” and “Chapter 2.” She’s currently working on her debut album, which will most likely include “rue” and the extremely impressive single preceding it, “midnight love.” This girl is someone you simply have to start listening to as she works on dominating the indie pop rock scene. Soon enough, you won’t be able to get away from her.
The powerful female energy radiating from this list shows promise for the future of indie music. There’s way more than these five; musicians like HAIM, Mitski and even Taylor Swift are also producing fantastic indie music. Indie chicks are killing it right now. Check them out on Spotify or any other music platform and see for yourself.
