Photo Credit: Fender
By Joseph Krebaum | Perspectives Editor
Great music will always remain timeless, especially music made by women!
Unfortunately for many female musicians, their records are too often overshadowed by those of male musicians in any genre: pop, rock, indie, electronica, hip-hop, metal, you name it.
Not only are they overshadowed by men but also in many cases by each other. There are so many incredibly talented girls and women making high-quality music across genres that are–as Alanis Morissette would say–“under rug swept” (her idiosyncratic way of saying “swept under the rug”).
With March being Women’s History Month, I think it’d be interesting to go back through the decades, starting with the 1980s, and unearth some of the most underrated women in music from each decade.
Kate Pierson & Cindy Wilson of The B-52’s (1980s)
More than just “that band who does ‘Love Shack,’” The B-52’s began making music in the late 70s, but their burgeoning success developed even further during the decade that followed thanks to a string of four 80s albums (technically five if you count their EP).
To me, this band is the epitome of utilizing both male and female vocalists, and this fusion wouldn’t work nearly as well without Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson singing, harmonizing, and ad-libbing in songs like “Rock Lobster,” “Dance This Mess Around” and “Roam.” Their vocals are a vital component of The B-52’s’ offbeat style, a sound that would carry on well into the next century with acts like Scissor Sisters, Sleater-Kinney and, um, any artist who makes Chicago house music.
Toni Halliday of Curve (1990s)
Perhaps the vast majority of U.K. duo Curve’s extremely potent discography isn’t on streaming here in the U.S., but that shouldn’t stop you from, at the very least, checking out Come Clean and Gift!
Curve’s unmistakable ear for textured sonics and guitar atmospherics is one-of-a-kind in the alternative music-sphere, and I can especially appreciate female singer-songwriter Toni Halliday’s gothic touch to their music.
Yes, Dean Garcia, the other half of Curve, is responsible for the compositions, but it’s Halliday’s hypnotic vocal presence that really carried the band forward. Plus, the male-female dynamic of the group is almost certainly mirrored by ensuing indie groups like Phantogram and Sleigh Bells.
Michelle Branch (2000s)
Too often reduced to just “a pretty face that can sing,” Michelle Branch has been capable of so much more than that as one of the early 2000s’ premier singer-songwriters. Her glossy pop rock debut album, The Spirit Room, came out in 2001, a year before Avril Lavigne, Idol winner Kelly Clarkson, and Alanis Morissette would follow in her footsteps.
She not only sings but also writes her own material and plays the guitar, so it really is disingenuous to label her as just another pretty face, especially with 2000s songs like “Everywhere,” “Find Your Way Back,” “Drop in the Ocean” and “Breathe” all under Branch’s belt.
Jillian Banks, aka BANKS (2010s)
No one else captures that smoky, downbeat R&B vibe of the mid-to-late 2010s quite like BANKS. My feelings about her new album may range from mixed to negative, but that’s just because it pales in comparison to the outstanding ambient atmospherics and vocal runs of BANKS’ first three albums, all of which came out in the 2010s.
There are countless female and even male pop singers nowadays who I suspect have cribbed their “cursive” singing style from artists like BANKS. All of them don’t even hold a candle to her unfairly overshadowed talent as a songwriter and musician.
Michelle Joy of Cannons (2020s)
The other “Michelle” in this list, Michelle Joy, is the lead singer of dreamy indie synthpop trio Cannons. There isn’t much to say about the band since they’re still up-and-coming, but anyone who listens to Q101 may perhaps recognize the beauty of Joy’s breathy vocals on hits like “Fire for You” and “Bad Dream.”
It’s a shame that Cannons haven’t pressed any of their albums to cassette tape or CD yet because even their less-exposed tracks like “Hurricane” and “Heartbeat Highway” would sound immaculate on my home stereo’s speakers.
As with all of these other painfully underappreciated female artists, I’m worried that Cannons will someday completely slip under the radar if they don’t keep their momentum going. I have a feeling that future artists will copy Joy’s laid-back, “just vibes” style, so let’s give Cannons, Michelle Joy and every other woman in this list the credit they deserve!
