With the year coming to an end in under a month and in light of the emergence of Spotify Wrapped playlists, music is currently on many people’s minds. I know it’s on mine!
Adventuring and exploring new songs and genres is something that I really enjoy doing in my free time. The plethora of music available to the public is so vast, and there are millions and millions of artists putting out new music every day. However, in my opinion, not all of them are being praised and valued as much as they deserve.
The term “underrated”, according to the Oxford Dictionary, means something or someone that is “not rated or valued highly enough.” Popular artists nowadays are putting out lots of music, but so are lesser-known artists, who I believe deserve more recognition for their work.
Here are five of my current favorite music artists that I believe you all should be listening to. I’m sure you’ll love both them and their music!
Declan Mckenna is a 23-year-old English singer-songwriter from the London Borough of Enfield, United Kingdom. He has been creating music since 2014, with his most popular song, “Brazil” being released that same year. His music style consists of indie rock, glam rock, and indie/dream pop. Some other songs by him that I really enjoy are “Bethlehem,” “Isombard” and “Make Me Your Queen.”
2. FKA twigs
Tahliah Debrett Barnett–known by her stage name, FKA twigs, is a 34-year-old English singer-songwriter and dancer born and raised in Cheltenham, United Kingdom. She has been in the music industry since 2004 and her music has been categorized as contemporary R&B, trip-hop, and dance/electronic pop. Some of my favorite songs from her include, “oh my love,” “glass & patron” and “honda.”
3. MICHELLE
MICHELLE consists of six individuals born and raised in New York named Sofia D’Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee, and Jamee Lockard. The band was formed in 2018 and the group’s sound falls in line with the indie pop and dream/electronic pop genres. Some amazing songs from them include “MESS U MADE,” “PULSE” and “POSE.”
Show Me the Body is an American hardcore punk band formed in New York and consists of band members Julian Cashwan Pratt, Harlan Steed, and Jackie Jackieboy. The band was established in 2012 and its sound draws on elements of hip-hop, noise music, and sludge metal. A few songs that I have really enjoyed from them include “Food From Plate,” “Drought” and “K-9.”
Mustard Service is a five-person indie rock band from Miami, Florida, that was formed in 2015. The five band members include Marco Rivero Ochoa, Augusto “Tuto” Di Catarina, Gabriel Marinuchi, Leo Cattani, and Adam Perez. Listeners have described their sound as zest pop, surf rock, jazz funk, and bossa nova. Some songs of theirs that I like listening to include “Pleasantries (With Your Lover),” “Daddy Dookie Brown” and “9 to 5.”