Under-rated artists/albums

[[james]]

Now entering the second month of my summer holidays, I've listened to every song on my iTunes enough times to drive a man insane (although oddly my top 25 played songs hasn't changed).

Anyway, long story short: I need some new music! Can anyone recommend me something new to listen to? An under-rated album or artist would be nice but anything really. I like most genres so suggest anything (within reason, smartarses!) Thank you, kind readers.

[Rad]

OK, a few personal faves from various genres that might not be on everyones radar (all albums but best tracks suggested):

Indie (that new fangled music that's sweeping the nation)
Salad-Drink Me (Motorbike to Heaven, Drink the Elixir)
Catatonia-Scissors, Paper, Stone (Stone by Stone, Godspeed)
Silver Sun-Silver Sun (Lava, Golden Skin)
Belly-Sweet Ride (Now They'll Sleep, Seal My Fate)
Skunk Anansie-Paranoid and Sunburnt (100 Ways, I Can Dream)
Pulp-We Love Life (Wickerman, Bad Cover Version)
My Life Story-Golden Mile (12 Reasons Why, Strumpet)

Lady songstresses
Nut - Fantanicity (Brains, Scream)
Beth Orton - Trailer Park (Wish I Never, Touch Me With Your Love)
Emiliana Torrini - Love in the Time of Science (cant remember individual track names sorry)
Scarlet-Chemistry (Independent LS, Love Hangover)

Male songsters
British Sea Power-Open Season (Be Gone, Like a Honeycomb)
Nick Cave-No More Shall We Part (God is in the House, As I Sat Sadly)
Richard Hawley-Cole's Corner (Tonight, Just Like the Rain)

Pop fabulousness
Fuzzbox-Big Bang (Fast Forward Futurama, Pink Sunshine)
B52s - Cosmic Thing (Roam, Deadbeat Club)
Madonna - True Blue (True Blue, Where's the Party)
Pink-I'm Not Dead (the singles, obv)
Kylie - Hits + (If You Don't Love Me, Confide in Me)
Abba-More Abba Gold (I am the City, Ring Ring)

Roxette loveliness (natch) (tracknames only cos all the albums own)
Never is a Long Time
Neverending Love
Hotblooded
Run to You
Listen to your Heart
Dressed for Success

Oh, I could go on all day, but there are a few starters for ten...

[[james]]

Wow, thank you! I already love Beth Orton, Emiliana Torrini and Catatonia so I have good faith in your recommendations.

[Rad]

If you like those three, try also Tanya Donnely's solo albums x

[bauerbotherer]

A couple more great female singer/ songwriters for you from another huge Beth Orton fan:

Kate Walsh - Tim's House. Really chilled and a beautiful voice - very understated.

Candie Payne - I Wish I Could Have Loved You More. Slightly Portishead like but not quite so dark.

Nerina Pallot - Fires. The album isn't as poppy as last year's single - Everybody's Gone to War. If you like Tori Amos this will probably appeal.

Ooh! Just thought of another - definitely not female singer songwriter though but more in the "new" style indie...

The Frames - try Fitzcarraldo first. They're an Irish band who've been around for years and are a million times better than U2 and should have had tons more success if there was any justice. Gorgeous voice and heartbreaking lyrics.

[Tacye Marley]

Regina Spektor is a goddess, if that helps. Try downloading Us, Apres Moi and maybe Sailor Song, and see what you think.

[[james]]

tacyemarley said:

Regina Spektor is a goddess, if that helps. Try downloading Us, Apres Moi and maybe Sailor Song, and see what you think.

I love Regina! Samson always makes me sad but in a good way.

[Tacye Marley]

There's a photo of me somewhere mimicing the pose she does on the front cover of Soviet Kitsch, only with lager instead of vodka, a tiara instead a military cap and without the Russian Dolls. It doesn't have quite the same effect.

[pauliepoos]

Ruth A Deller - I love you! Deadbeat Club AND Pink Sunshine? Pop heaven!

Charlotte Gainsbourg's 5:55 album is essential listening. Little Monsters, The Operation, the title track and The Songs That We Sing are the standouts.

And Laura Michelle Kelly's album is rather good, very ethereal with theatrical elements and a Bond theme or two on there. Her version of Somewhere Only We Know is how I imagine heaven to look like.

And while we're on ethereal, Dubstar's Disgraceful is essential.

And finally, I think it's on i-tunes - sample Lola Dutronic's Walking On Sunshine. They messaged me on myspace because I had Saint Etienne as one of my friends - their cover of this is amazing.

[Rad]

pauliepoos said:

And while we're on ethereal, Dubstar's Disgraceful is essential.

.

Too right it is. And after my duck dream the other day I am beginning to wonder if we are secretly the same person...

[bittersweet]

One of the best CD's I've heard for years is the new Marc Almond album 'Stardom Road'. Its a collection of cover songs, everything from a Bowie song, through to Dusty Springfield, Sinatra and Gene Pitney covers. He duets with Sarah Cracknell of St Etienne and Antony and the Johnsons ona couple of the tracks. Its a great CD, well worth a listen.

[boxedjoy]

rad6380 said:

OK, a few personal faves from various genres that might not be on everyones radar (all albums but best tracks suggested):

Indie (that new fangled music that's sweeping the nation)
Salad-Drink Me (Motorbike to Heaven, Drink the Elixir)
Catatonia-Scissors, Paper, Stone (Stone by Stone, Godspeed)
Silver Sun-Silver Sun (Lava, Golden Skin)
Belly-Sweet Ride (Now They'll Sleep, Seal My Fate)
Skunk Anansie-Paranoid and Sunburnt (100 Ways, I Can Dream)
Pulp-We Love Life (Wickerman, Bad Cover Version)
My Life Story-Golden Mile (12 Reasons Why, Strumpet)

Lady songstresses
Nut - Fantanicity (Brains, Scream)
Beth Orton - Trailer Park (Wish I Never, Touch Me With Your Love)
Emiliana Torrini - Love in the Time of Science (cant remember individual track names sorry)
Scarlet-Chemistry (Independent LS, Love Hangover)

Male songsters
British Sea Power-Open Season (Be Gone, Like a Honeycomb)
Nick Cave-No More Shall We Part (God is in the House, As I Sat Sadly)
Richard Hawley-Cole's Corner (Tonight, Just Like the Rain)

Pop fabulousness
Fuzzbox-Big Bang (Fast Forward Futurama, Pink Sunshine)
B52s - Cosmic Thing (Roam, Deadbeat Club)
Madonna - True Blue (True Blue, Where's the Party)
Pink-I'm Not Dead (the singles, obv)
Kylie - Hits + (If You Don't Love Me, Confide in Me)
Abba-More Abba Gold (I am the City, Ring Ring)

Roxette loveliness (natch) (tracknames only cos all the albums own)
Never is a Long Time
Neverending Love
Hotblooded
Run to You
Listen to your Heart
Dressed for Success

Oh, I could go on all day, but there are a few starters for ten...

You might be the best person ever. I fucking love Belly and Tanya Donelly.

Is the Nut album possible to find anywhere? I have two singles, but due to the unGoogable name I got stuck.

[Rad]

I have a copy of it (and 3 singles) though I suspect it didn't sell much, not sure if ebay would come up trumps?? If not, I'm sure we could arrange something involving computers, jiffy bags and shiny disc shaped objects...

[LoveMusic]

Annie, Regina Spektor, Bebel Gilberto, Kate Nash, Gillian Welch...

[al]

rad6380 said:

OK, a few personal faves from various genres that might not be on everyones radar (all albums but best tracks suggested):

Indie (that new fangled music that's sweeping the nation)
Salad-Drink Me (Motorbike to Heaven, Drink the Elixir)
Catatonia-Scissors, Paper, Stone (Stone by Stone, Godspeed)
Silver Sun-Silver Sun (Lava, Golden Skin)
Belly-Sweet Ride (Now They'll Sleep, Seal My Fate)
Skunk Anansie-Paranoid and Sunburnt (100 Ways, I Can Dream)
Pulp-We Love Life (Wickerman, Bad Cover Version)
My Life Story-Golden Mile (12 Reasons Why, Strumpet)

This section of the list reminded me just how few female-fronted indie bands there are today. I genuinely miss Skunk Anansie and Lush, Sleeper's The It Girl remains one of my favourite albums (no, really) and I can't pick one single hole anywhere in Catatonia's entire back catalogue.

Misty nostalgia over, I would recommend the following underrated gems...

David Usher - Morning Orbit (FM-friendly rock but so, so listenable)
The Boy Least Likely To - The Best Party Ever (the ultimate good-mood album)
LHB - Tell 'Em Who We Are (slightly trippy, quirky lite house, featuring Imogen Heap on a couple of tracks)
Mull Historical Society - Us/This Is Hope (endearingly cute yet still quite blokey indie aceness)

And if you're interested in more recent stuff, The World Is Outside by the Ghosts is easily the best album of 2007 so far. Siobhan Donaghy and Ash are a close second and third.

[somethingbiblical]

If you love Regina, try and get your hands on bonus track Uh-merica.

And Consequence of Sounds.

Oh, I love her. I could sing Fidelity all day, if I could actually sing it well... "Just to break my fa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aalllll"


Oh, and The New Pornographers! Favourite at the moment is Sing Me Spanish Techno.

Pretty much anything by Nouvelle Vague.

I love Be Gentle With Me by The Boy Least Likely To - but now it's on a f'ing sofa advert!

For the cheese factor, Chariot by Gavin DeGraw.. "Your favourite fruit is chocolate covered cherries".. rofl

One of the prettiest songs I've ever heard is I Don't Know What I Can Save You From by Kings of Convenience.

Le Tigre! Amazing. "Who took the bom from the bombalombalom.."
Deceptacon and their cover of I'm So Excited.

Lots of Louis XIV is good, and the lyrics are sufficiently dirty, but they get a bit samey. Paper Doll, Pledge of Allegiance and Finding Out True Love Is Blind especially plz kthxbye.

Stephen Fretwell Stephen Fretwell Stephen Fretwell!! Emily, Lines, Rose, New York, Run, Do You Want To Come With... It's all amazing. Basically the whole album Magpie.

Susannah and The Magical Orchestra's version of Love Will Tear Us Apart is good, it was playing on 'Oaks when Becca got cremated, lulz

And if you're going for a good old funky meaningless dance tune, Shiny Disco Balls by Who Da Funk.

[Gordon]

01. Linda Sundblad- Oh My God
Favourites: Oh Father, Cheat, Pretty Rebels
02. Deee-Lite - Infinity Within
Favourites: Thank You Everyday, Pussycat Meow, Fuddy Duddy Judge
03. Luscious Jackson - Electric Honey
Favourites: Nervous Breakthrough, Ladyfingers, Summer Daze
04. Vitamin C - More
Favourites: The Itch, Sex Has Come Between Us, Busted
05. Cyndi Lauper - Shine
Favourites: Shine, Higher Plane, Water's Edge
06. Cristina - Sleep It Off
Favourites: Ticket To The Tropics, Don't Mutilate My Mink, You Rented A Space
07. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Superstition
Favourites: Kiss Them For Me, Silver Waterfalls, Got To Get Up
08. Genevieve Waite - Romance Is On The Rise
Favourites: Times of Love, Pink Gin & Lime, Femme Fatale
09. Sister Sledge - We Are Family
Favourites: Thinking of You, Lost In Music, He's The Greatest Dancer
10. Jane Wiedlin - Kissproof World
Favourites: Feeling Like Flying, Die Now Pay Later, Icicle

[latoyajunkie]

I love that Vitamin C CD too!

[schmindie]

*fires up itunes*

Sleater Kinney - "Memorize Yr Lines", "Words and Guitar", "Start Together", "Good Things"
Symposium - "Farewell To Twilight"
Ash - "Innocent Smile", "Lost In You", "A Life Less Ordinary"
Bright Eyes - "The Calendar Hung Itself" ("
Does he kiss your eyelids in the morning when you start to raise your head...? ", "Poison Oak", "Something Vague"
Cat Power - "He War", "Good Woman"
Angelica - "All I Can See"
Justin - "Lovestoned" (but only for the echoey guitary bit near the end)...
Ben Folds Five - "Brick", "Kate"
Nine Inch Nails - "Closer"
Cable - "Freeze The Atlantic"
Aereogramme - "Yes"
Guillemots - "Made Up Lovesong 43"
Kleerup ft Robyn - "With Every Heartbeat"

...and goodness knows what else. This is just a sample of what I have just now.

[schmindie]

thesloppydog said:

rad6380 said:

OK, a few personal faves from various genres that might not be on everyones radar (all albums but best tracks suggested):

Indie (that new fangled music that's sweeping the nation)
Salad-Drink Me (Motorbike to Heaven, Drink the Elixir)
Catatonia-Scissors, Paper, Stone (Stone by Stone, Godspeed)
Silver Sun-Silver Sun (Lava, Golden Skin)
Belly-Sweet Ride (Now They'll Sleep, Seal My Fate)
Skunk Anansie-Paranoid and Sunburnt (100 Ways, I Can Dream)
Pulp-We Love Life (Wickerman, Bad Cover Version)
My Life Story-Golden Mile (12 Reasons Why, Strumpet)

This section of the list reminded me just how few female-fronted indie bands there are today. I genuinely miss Skunk Anansie and Lush, Sleeper's The It Girl remains one of my favourite albums (no, really) and I can't pick one single hole anywhere in Catatonia's entire back catalogue.

Misty nostalgia over, I would recommend the following underrated gems...

David Usher - Morning Orbit (FM-friendly rock but so, so listenable)
The Boy Least Likely To - The Best Party Ever (the ultimate good-mood album)
LHB - Tell 'Em Who We Are (slightly trippy, quirky lite house, featuring Imogen Heap on a couple of tracks)
Mull Historical Society - Us/This Is Hope (endearingly cute yet still quite blokey indie aceness)

And if you're interested in more recent stuff, The World Is Outside by the Ghosts is easily the best album of 2007 so far. Siobhan Donaghy and Ash are a close second and third.

For mentioning Ash, Sleeper, Lush, Catatonia and Mull Historical Society, you get an exalt. Are you me?!

[[james]]

I didn't like Klerrup when I first heard it but I was in a melodramatic mood last week and put it on repeat and now it's one of my Songs of the Month. Similarly, I almost always have NiN 'Closer' on repeat as it's frankly brilliant. Their new album is quite good too.

[Nurse Dunkley]

I like the Kleerup video, for Robyn's little scrotum pixie face. She's so cute.

I am rubbish at recommending music, and don't know what you've heard of/like anyway. You read Popjustice? That's where I get most of my underrated artists from.

Rad- do you feel there's a Roxette song as amazing or better than It Must Have Been Love? I really love it, but it's their only one on my ipod.

[[james]]

nursedunkley said:

I like the Kleerup video, for Robyn's little scrotum pixie face. She's so cute.

I am rubbish at recommending music, and don't know what you've heard of/like anyway. You read Popjustice? That's where I get most of my underrated artists from.

I can't decide if Robyn is pretty or not. I keep getting distratced by her leztastic hairstyles.

Yeh, I tend to get a lot of pop tips from PJ or other music blogs. I have them to thank for bringing Dragonette and Robyn into my life.

[fused]

I really like a lot of the suggestions here. Catatonia were great. I really miss Skunk Anansie as well. I'd put Post Orgasmic Chill in my list as it doesn't appear to be as highly rated as their other work, but I love it. Ash are brilliant as well.

Anyway, I'd like to add:

Melissa Auf der Maur- Auf der Maur- (An excellent album from ex-Smashing Pumpkins/Hole bassist, and much better than what either Billy Corgan or Courtney Love have managed to come up with recently).

Bif Naked- I Bificus and Purge (she’s best known for her gorgeous song ‘Lucky’ which she sang on Buffy once.)

Thee Michelle Gun Elephant- Gear Blues (A lot of great tracks by this Japanese rock band on here).

Ayumi Hamasaki- Loveppears (It sounds like a big mix of genres).

Lene Marlin- Playing My Game (I played this album a lot in my teenage years)

Plumb- candycoatedwaterdrops (Jennifer ‘Crush’ Paige covered 'Stranded' and dance act Plummet covered ‘Damaged’, but the original versions by Plumb on this album are much better).

Mew- Frengers ('She Came Home For Christmas' is probably my favourite Christmas song ever).

Mars Volta- De-Loused in the Comatorium (Very over-the-top and melodramatic, but I like that).

Jim Steinman- Bad For Good (Unsurprisingly most of this ended up on assorted Meat Loaf albums- and Left In The Dark was also covered by Barbra Streisand).

Delays- Faded Seaside Glamour (Quite summery and reminds me of old family holidays).

[Rad]

Is It Must Have Been Love the best Roxette song? Hmmm... its good... I like Listen to Your Heart best meself but on the albums there are some little sweet heartful gems like Never is a Long Time, Heart-Shaped Sea, Things Will Never Be The Same and Perfect Day.

As for their uptempo stuff, The Look and Dressed for Success are my faves, but I love Fireworks, Lies, Sleeping in my Car, Hotblooded etc.

If you get a chance, check out their MTV Unplugged, which is awesome. And if you like 80s pop cheese, their first album, Pearls of Passion is a classic example.

Some of Marie's solo stuff is really good (Tro is perhaps the best track) though am less bothered about Per's.

I am loving all the suggestions on this thread, can't wait to try some of them out. Kind of eerie how much we all have in common though...James, I hope your ipod is feeling happy...