Many of you have asked me what the best way is to discover new music, and I’ve given a few tips. But my absolute favorite is also the simplest: talk to your friends. With that in mind, I’m starting what will hopefully be a monthly music recommendation brain dump.
Tell me about your favorite new artists (say, within the last three years?) that practically nobody else has heard of. I’m talking about the most underrated of the underrated: fewer than 5,000 monthly listeners on Spotify at the absolute most, and ideally under 1,000.
Something that popped up on Spotify after you finished listening to the last album you put on.
Hell, even your band. Even if you’ve submitted your music to me before.
Assuming there’s enough participation, I’ll pull together some playlists and make some videos to hype up the best of the best. In the meantime, this will be a way to get the recommendations out of my inbox and into a public space.
Thanks for your help! I’m excited to listen to your picks.
xo Gabbie
P.S. Don’t worry about the “New Bands for Old Heads” aspect — it’s my job to listen for the connections to older influences! Just tell me about whomever you want, as long as they are unknown.
Criminally underexposed. They have two albums out, one just last fall. This is a side project for everyone involved. I was only previously familiar with one of the artists and really need to do a deep dive into the other work of the rest at some point.
The Mercy Stone out of SoCal. I'm biased, this is my hubby's band (and our daughter occasionally sings with them too). Thanks for the invitation to share! I'll link to Spotify for one of my favorite songs!
This one is VERY niche, but Stereogum recommended the band Astronoid a few years ago and I absolutely loved their first couple albums. I’ve heard the genre described as “dream thrash” 🙄 - think shoegaze but with blast beats. If you like this song, you’ll dig their other stuff: https://open.spotify.com/track/75fyLhgEilq8T2MMdkm18E?si=4RuJYOiRTnCfBQp7LyK7Fg
I mentioned them in one of my other comments, but I love Katie the Pest and still listen to them regularly even though they haven’t put out anything new since 2020. They have 75 monthly listeners on Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/artist/04iDKp9uZP71qP4QpXAzb0
I put out this tune a few months back, because I just had a sudden need for a melody-driven 90’s distortion song about social anxiety. I haven’t even promoted it, because who’s interested? Haha. 🤠🎶
Another great place for music discovery is Music League. You can play with friends or strangers from around the world. You contribute songs to a joint playlist based around different themes, and then everyone votes for their favorites.
What a fun (and productive) exercise! I get my music recommendations from NPR, Paste, Remember the Lightning (Power Pop newsletter), and Tik Tok influencers galore. Here are my favorites from 2024 with less than 5,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Enjoy!!
i was going to tell you these bands are too big and then I realized just because they are famous in our group chat doesn't mean they're like... actually famous
This one is stretching the rules a little, this album is from 2020. I saw Vita and the Wolf open for my friend's band back in like 2016 and loved them. Then they dropped the album Anna Ohio and I love it so much. This wonderful pop/rock record should have more fans. https://open.spotify.com/album/4wVd4GAPPj8TMX7kAItgDP?si=F8Mv3_F1R-ufoUPXekKWsQ
Absolutely Anytime popped up in my discover weekly and instantly became a song on rotation. Sunday School is their debut single. I don't know much about them, but I love this joyous and infectious slice of power pop and look forward to hearing more from them.
i am the worst at keeping track of stuff that isn't on Spotify, it's actually embarrassing and sad??? like let me make playlists across platforms pls. anyway thank you so much
No problem. I'll keep the preference in mind for future linking to you. I just default to promoting Bandcamp over streaming platforms for artist revenue and list building. I will say not all releases are on Spotify for Victory Hands (yet). Oddly, the new album for Big Yellow is not currently on Bandcamp (which seems odd).
i definitely prefer to promote via Bandcamp to help artists. it's a whole separate conversation, I think the lack of accessibility/integration. appreciate you!
The Dexateens - southern punk/rock. Their Red Dust Rising album is a good intro -- https://open.spotify.com/album/7cwVYZrtOTKhAIWGJ5QeVq?si=26NJ8biaTxuIXmhDnyPZYw
Also the Lost and Found EP was re-released a little while back and has some absolute gems on it: https://open.spotify.com/album/1zyFWDAUvnBINMWvjKxGxi?si=B8RYJQwBQsq7U7siCZ-miQ
Also The Blips - https://open.spotify.com/artist/1j1AgQcJ7wRvB8cRFjO9hi?si=BYzpGaChRqCO1_6JA24bCg
Criminally underexposed. They have two albums out, one just last fall. This is a side project for everyone involved. I was only previously familiar with one of the artists and really need to do a deep dive into the other work of the rest at some point.
Angela Pearley is magic for my ears
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2U3xMvB5tzEWXO6lM6HMfg?si=UN1-VqJEQreWYtw8RbTgGw
https://open.spotify.com/album/2RZ5bE6gpAlqDmZHQW1y71?si=6Y1UXMpeQ0Kalli6EH3BEg
You might enjoy this!
Oklahoma Blood.
Not sure how famous/non-famous they are.
Drop-tuned groove metal played with sincerity and heart.
So pumped substack recommended this in our feed. We love discovering lesser-known music too (it's what our substack and music blog is all about too).
we think we were ahead of the curve on these ones. i wish i had kept track how many listeners they had back then!
https://herdofgorillas.com/2014/05/15/alex-g-hollow/
https://herdofgorillas.com/2014/02/27/vince-staples-102/
https://herdofgorillas.com/2014/05/17/leif-vollebekk-off-the-main-drag/
https://herdofgorillas.com/2014/10/03/roosevelt-around-you/
https://herdofgorillas.com/2014/11/29/eyedress-nature-trips-rukk-stone-remix/
https://herdofgorillas.com/2014/12/20/little-simz-no-introduction/
https://herdofgorillas.com/2015/12/26/japanese-breakfast-the-woman-that-loves-you/
https://herdofgorillas.com/2015/12/03/claire-cottrill-carbon-copy/ (now known as Clairo)
i have 2 submissions - one new, one old --
1) feller - they have only 500 monthly listeners at the moment but i think they will get much bigger. https://open.spotify.com/track/5fKEgwRcM1tpsU5egKw4lo?si=192d1382e9cc44b5
2) an angle - this album from 2005 is so under-appreciated!! they only have like 250 monthly listeners somehow.
https://open.spotify.com/track/5EWzQjeuuVdmTYgtwh2ZRM?si=ea6fb99881364e17
Thank you, Gabbie, for this. Below is a link to my debut full-length record. I’m really proud of it: https://open.spotify.com/album/08luU0dy9kpnPTQPCBE8kA?si=5-j7GuDLT7Kcgjy9siS_PA
The Mercy Stone out of SoCal. I'm biased, this is my hubby's band (and our daughter occasionally sings with them too). Thanks for the invitation to share! I'll link to Spotify for one of my favorite songs!
https://www.themercystonemusic.com/
https://open.spotify.com/track/4HApM37YUpO4tdFJj6cBZg
My band No Conscription League from Cincinnati, OH just released a demo compilation of our past few ep’s, I think you would really enjoy it! Thank you so much! https://open.spotify.com/album/13Mo7iXjStknQc5VIITOJV?si=2t8T-bRAQnOu3Cpatqm3Jw
This one is VERY niche, but Stereogum recommended the band Astronoid a few years ago and I absolutely loved their first couple albums. I’ve heard the genre described as “dream thrash” 🙄 - think shoegaze but with blast beats. If you like this song, you’ll dig their other stuff: https://open.spotify.com/track/75fyLhgEilq8T2MMdkm18E?si=4RuJYOiRTnCfBQp7LyK7Fg
definitely too well known for this exercise but I'm very very excited to dig into them!!
I mentioned them in one of my other comments, but I love Katie the Pest and still listen to them regularly even though they haven’t put out anything new since 2020. They have 75 monthly listeners on Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/artist/04iDKp9uZP71qP4QpXAzb0
Hiahli [high ah lie]
Minneapolis Live Band Hip Hop
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1aR2lXRa5O4aHAla8W5e3b?si=dsRh1BQOTCyL7sYVakyWng
A few aussie punk picks, not super new but super local:
Daughter Bat and the Lip Stings https://open.spotify.com/artist/2b0srfPP9MJdIza7MQGaHq?si=Wh7YleMsT5iN4HOvr70zuQ
Busted Head Racket https://open.spotify.com/artist/4BXdwtKTQ9Qvzs4PT3iLYt?si=_sFgho3yQeuX2xd0EgwrHw
Dicklord https://open.spotify.com/artist/5xC1GCFhUYlAV3bMmxl8qH?si=QSTGvmmGTjuPp6VtqZy8qQ
Cherry Cheeks: https://open.spotify.com/artist/682R9funbPX6wBWpD5IXPF?si=OQVTcqNtSM6Gz9-YyaTROg
i already had cherry cheeks on my egg punk playlist so i'm on board
Cant wait to listen to other rec’s!
I put out this tune a few months back, because I just had a sudden need for a melody-driven 90’s distortion song about social anxiety. I haven’t even promoted it, because who’s interested? Haha. 🤠🎶
https://open.spotify.com/track/08k5xQFojEDqjBnHiNNlUw?si=IRn_2SBHRf2xjoHB11cyBQ
thanks for sharing with us!
Had a great time listening through suggestions here last night. Thank YOU!
hoping to compile my faves in some organized way soon!
Two other “old head” style songs from this project
https://open.spotify.com/album/3bZAogTNJRTdZRplHGvwNV?si=4IfoyJQRShiI4kVvL-4Acw
https://open.spotify.com/track/0V2YtD7pTOdnlAOLLofaAp?si=3kePJaxnRHO65Gc6OKh5NA
Another great place for music discovery is Music League. You can play with friends or strangers from around the world. You contribute songs to a joint playlist based around different themes, and then everyone votes for their favorites.
https://musicleague.com/
What a fun (and productive) exercise! I get my music recommendations from NPR, Paste, Remember the Lightning (Power Pop newsletter), and Tik Tok influencers galore. Here are my favorites from 2024 with less than 5,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Enjoy!!
ahem https://open.spotify.com/artist/2u0ygVB74QBXMDMMO50LuJ
Annabel https://open.spotify.com/artist/5aMPRdW6S0lzdsJgwdcggq
Baseball Bat https://open.spotify.com/artist/5GtSS05YsU0vWWFCgh9jPG
Beverly Kills https://open.spotify.com/artist/6vStcouZCnOc2yg2tiUC6C
Cola Cubes https://open.spotify.com/artist/1RgyIDJ4OlqHWdDeTuhv6B
Dancer https://open.spotify.com/artist/4aRuyN2moR9xvYmIzUHiR1
Daniel Markham https://open.spotify.com/artist/75MkrrU1kl0mxfUpbj23gm
Dave Cope and the Sass https://open.spotify.com/artist/0oym02Y99cqAg22Z7EB2Hq
Downhaul https://open.spotify.com/artist/5g4PKgeQwXYLTktYSIYPXR
Ethan Beck & The Charlie Browns https://open.spotify.com/artist/1ynls4V8AzZ5gKRWqiHlU6
Extra Arms https://open.spotify.com/artist/6MNq1oQqFxaxGzlgYgaUNP
Jade Hairpins https://open.spotify.com/artist/0sCQZaT5rz9fVUdjZw80Nh
Jimmy Montague https://open.spotify.com/artist/16UnQZUyjVgtD243xy0buf
Lolas https://open.spotify.com/artist/3f4fKkWUcFhFVvg5JfJ3Nb
Mister Goblin https://open.spotify.com/artist/5TkkfKAAVNR1dgeHuekJp7
Motorists https://open.spotify.com/artist/3ThrU1d2VW0MMFRzRq0aZQ
No Good With Secrets https://open.spotify.com/artist/65PsNFaR8hgH5tvAstQxNG
Overlord https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Z72xoKGgOLQKkdbkalpkG
R.E. Seraphin https://open.spotify.com/artist/7pGxt58A3tv1yMaL80thor
Raised on TV https://open.spotify.com/artist/6S2aeEn6RhIUTzMTvcZriK
SOFTJAW https://open.spotify.com/artist/3AD5i9AKHrPWTfNY7xCXxv
Somesurprises https://open.spotify.com/artist/0qgRfYHnkX1aRKmlWOEJZV
Spearside https://open.spotify.com/artist/4DYRub3mdTSTmdSZU2UH07
The Bird Calls https://open.spotify.com/artist/4OvIlGI9oNdXSUBTggvQrC
The Cynz https://open.spotify.com/artist/18aahCIq41XoDOURlKXx3X
the dt's https://open.spotify.com/artist/4nZVHrZrnqw6nNruvY3G0t
The Follies https://open.spotify.com/artist/5cxIiEe2pTa3Doylp2rG68
The Jellybricks https://open.spotify.com/artist/1TURKghoJp4HPXjs84mION
The Pretty Flowers https://open.spotify.com/artist/7sGS3BzfNKOjZLM2rFrAbM
The Reflectors https://open.spotify.com/artist/03utaaFlbNiZbAhpkavKSs
The Trafalgars https://open.spotify.com/artist/5VAXQ8nD1m3kEwNyRR019l
Thecatherines https://open.spotify.com/artist/61RQ49pQaZs0ZiogWG1SaQ
Tigerblind https://open.spotify.com/artist/6avzpQQHd6Ux856O7EcWLB
Wesley Fuller https://open.spotify.com/artist/7LZ4AKTvJBKqY1DLPXuJ3H
Wifey https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vHbx5mh4FeoOvVSz2Ek7g
Got to give a shout out to the LA power-pop scene:
Billy Tibbals - https://open.spotify.com/track/3v5fQ0ID1VwOF6gboDIDC0?si=P79BXJLlQDm46LmLeZ93xw&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A6BEVaUYBWuVadSPd4iSza8
Uni Boys - https://open.spotify.com/track/1og0lM9CjH7N7ougvsa4U8?si=Th3JYFM7Q1qDigT0jr_taQ
And to this Anglo-German band who blend 80s rock influences with a Sarah Records vibe:
The BVs - https://open.spotify.com/track/7DTWxcKA9Nah2IuzDO5IJX?si=4t2C2O00To6kULilYjI4xw
i was going to tell you these bands are too big and then I realized just because they are famous in our group chat doesn't mean they're like... actually famous
I followed the rules very carefully Gabbie. All under 5k listeners
i know you did!
This one is stretching the rules a little, this album is from 2020. I saw Vita and the Wolf open for my friend's band back in like 2016 and loved them. Then they dropped the album Anna Ohio and I love it so much. This wonderful pop/rock record should have more fans. https://open.spotify.com/album/4wVd4GAPPj8TMX7kAItgDP?si=F8Mv3_F1R-ufoUPXekKWsQ
bend the rules, it's ok!
Absolutely Anytime popped up in my discover weekly and instantly became a song on rotation. Sunday School is their debut single. I don't know much about them, but I love this joyous and infectious slice of power pop and look forward to hearing more from them.
https://open.spotify.com/track/4Equmt5XptALmT1ZwSem6w?si=0CHUGg2ZSgO0wmPAwoZF1g
power pop! I'm working on a playlist in that genre. thanks!!
Did someone say power-pop?! I will absolutely be checking that one out.
i thought you'd magically appear as soon as someone said those words lol
I’m a simple man and/or you know me too well
Group 1: Punk/Rock:
Vancouver punk band Lié.
Editrix (punk/grunge).
Imaginary People (rock).
Group 2: Art-, experimental, pop:
Folk-dream pop (it varies by album) artist Kate Teague. Try "Low Life."
Public Practice.
Sister Swire. (Having difficulty categorizing her...)
Vallens.
Kate Gately (experimental choral)
drop (haunting pop from Japan)
Group 3: Folk:
Alkemie (medieval court/folk music reconstruction).
Joe Troop (Latin-inflected banjo folk)
Instrumental folk by Sarah Louise.
Harmonic folk by The Ladies.
and with genres! 🙏
I'll get the self-promo out of the way first:
https://victoryhands.bandcamp.com/
https://loudhumans.bandcamp.com/album/see-lioning
https://thesoogs.bandcamp.com/album/level-terrace-apartment
Which I may have sent you before. I can't remember.
Then a few Atlanta specific ones:
https://bigyellow1.bandcamp.com/
https://bloodcircuits.bandcamp.com/album/spring-2024
And then some inexplicably overlooked:
https://bribarte.bandcamp.com/album/hex-sign
https://imbeinggood.bandcamp.com/
i am the worst at keeping track of stuff that isn't on Spotify, it's actually embarrassing and sad??? like let me make playlists across platforms pls. anyway thank you so much
No problem. Spotify version:
Loud Humans:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5IM4lR9kZq1zlbNJzRMXmt?si=ERXwhUOiQSm3JwPeknyUPA
Victory Hands:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0OE2X0K98KpV9SjESoeXJc?si=79crasH2Sv-uECE_7O7KPw
The Soogs:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0mkY9qV3L99vhGmjueTtoY?si=t9BkpJYxQp-_Pp2zhRJ_Uw
Blood Circuits:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/402by0PvuzwKJ52wA9VzYY?si=YBrgiziBTvys8aVsZgH3AQ
Big Yellow:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6tBz357wEvXUIrp2FGIVtS?si=cAuD5aPHRYONiT09C_8QAw
Bri Barte:
https://open.spotify.com/album/0BLzDjXZ4IwUtaHhRte4bG?si=iAI0tfD-RXGJfKAvcKic0Q
I’m Being Good:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7uBS0qgM1NfqeA4nzUSaTU?si=dtzLMk--RViPqAOVnXln7g
oh man you didn't need to do that I was just idly complaining!! I'm fine looking everything up. i just thought they weren't on Spotify.
No problem. I'll keep the preference in mind for future linking to you. I just default to promoting Bandcamp over streaming platforms for artist revenue and list building. I will say not all releases are on Spotify for Victory Hands (yet). Oddly, the new album for Big Yellow is not currently on Bandcamp (which seems odd).
i definitely prefer to promote via Bandcamp to help artists. it's a whole separate conversation, I think the lack of accessibility/integration. appreciate you!
The Belle Sounds https://open.spotify.com/artist/2WYokfVrEOtXg1YSwJ6pOO?si=K17MstQPRRGfYqCCDml7Rw
Night Heron
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1eRzhvy0hcneys0HxjSNlF?si=H0lrzT_0RdK5OR8zSj6CSw
Camp Crush
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Md43tDItXhquLZPaxsEOO?si=Sa6f9cDpRnSGfGYXjKNyVA
Salo Panto
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1bhqSa4iPwytWGRrYoty80?si=sitCKJ54Shy8EmW__UUW-A
I'm especially curious about Camp Crush 👀
Love me some Chantillion. Grand Buffet legacy.
hook me up with some links! i can't even find them
Oops; older than I thought!
https://chantillion.bandcamp.com/album/great-set-lotta-energy
oh hey they are from my home town