POC female fronted rock & punk
March 18, 2018 2:48 PM   Subscribe

Please recommend non-white, Indie and/or Post Rock and/or Punk female fronted bands.

For the past few years I've been listening to almost exclusively female singers and female fronted bands, which has worked as a sort of palliative to being raised on 70s and 80s cock rock. I've come to realize, however, that I now listen to almost exclusively white, anglosphere women.
I'd like to expand my listening range with some POC, maybe even from countries other than Britain and its colonies.
English or Spanish are preferred, though if it's good I don't really care what language it's in.
posted by signal to Media & Arts (43 answers total) 45 users marked this as a favorite
 
A few years ago, there was an awesome post on the blue: A Reference Of Female-Fronted Punk Rock: 1977-89 . I don’t know if the downloads are still valid, but the list includes bands from all over the world, and can be a starting point for you.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 3:13 PM on March 18, 2018 [2 favorites]


Downtown Boys!
posted by ITheCosmos at 3:14 PM on March 18, 2018 [10 favorites]


X-Ray Spex are the super classic example here.
posted by hobgadling at 3:18 PM on March 18, 2018 [11 favorites]


Yamantaka//Sonic Titan, a Toronto band whose members are mostly East Asian, Pacific Islander or Indigenous and queer, and the music draws from everything from Japanese Noh and metal to Canadian First Nations dance. (New album streaming here is killer).
posted by Gortuk at 3:24 PM on March 18, 2018 [2 favorites]


Any excuse to mention the BellRays is fine by me. This is probably their best album, they last put out an album in 2011, and they do still tour every now and again and should not be missed.
posted by pdb at 3:28 PM on March 18, 2018 [1 favorite]


X Ray Spex are the classic, Skunk Anansie, Tanya Tagaq covers the Pixies.
posted by moonlight on vermont at 3:34 PM on March 18, 2018


Response by poster: Thanks for all the answers so far! FWIW, I'm looking for current acts, mostly.
posted by signal at 3:36 PM on March 18, 2018


previously: Just another hijab wearing Indonesian girl heavy metal band
(Voice of Baceprot)
posted by blob at 3:52 PM on March 18, 2018


From the late-seventies, early-eighties southern California scene:
Alice Bag Band (Alicia Armendariz).
posted by D.C. at 4:22 PM on March 18, 2018 [3 favorites]


The Brat were from the same East L.A. Chicano punk scene as Alice Bag Band. Good stuff!
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 4:31 PM on March 18, 2018


Oh, and you may already be familiar with them, but if not: Romeo Void! Fronted by the fabulous Debora Iyall, who is Cowlitz Native American.
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 4:35 PM on March 18, 2018


The Thermals? Does fronted mean singing? Or just equally featured?
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 4:48 PM on March 18, 2018 [2 favorites]


No one has mentioned Alabama Shakes?
Asa! Shes amazing. Nigerian, sings in English, super cool. I love her voice so much.

Maybe you will also like:
Francisco Valnezuela
Fatoumata Diawara (amazing vocals but I can't understand the lyrics tbh),
Camilo Moreno (sings in Spanish)
posted by fshgrl at 4:54 PM on March 18, 2018 [2 favorites]


Dengue Fever, Xiu Xiu, Blonde Redhead, Deerhoof, and Japanese Breakfast come immediately to mind.
posted by kickingtheground at 5:00 PM on March 18, 2018 [3 favorites]


Cold Specks
Morcheeba
posted by pseudostrabismus at 5:11 PM on March 18, 2018


The Seratones have a badass POC female lead singer! They're from Shreveport.
posted by ball00000ns at 5:12 PM on March 18, 2018


I didn't know this until I just Googled them, but Skunk Anansie reformed in 2009 and are still going strong.
posted by Chairboy at 5:22 PM on March 18, 2018 [1 favorite]


Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas
posted by doctord at 5:42 PM on March 18, 2018


Dream Probe and Body Pressure are a couple I've seen recently
posted by ghostbikes at 5:54 PM on March 18, 2018


Thao and the Get Down Stay Down is fantastic, and fronted by Thao Nguyen. Here's the video for Meticulous Bird from their most recent album.
posted by platitudipus at 6:02 PM on March 18, 2018 [3 favorites]


The band you are looking for is Aye Nako
posted by windbox at 6:13 PM on March 18, 2018


S-21
posted by ghostbikes at 6:13 PM on March 18, 2018


La Misma
posted by ghostbikes at 6:22 PM on March 18, 2018




The 5.6.7.8's
posted by Chenko at 6:51 PM on March 18, 2018


(Aye Nako is fronted by a [trans] dude, but they're definitely great!)
posted by ITheCosmos at 6:57 PM on March 18, 2018


Seconding Dengue Fever and Thao with the Get Down Stay Down.

Also would love to add Vagabon, who I cannot stop listening to, and Ibeye, which might be a little soft for your tastes, but they are amazing.
posted by Grandysaur at 7:15 PM on March 18, 2018


Hurray for the Riff Raff! "Pa'lante" is so beautiful. Their music spans a lot of genres - folk, rock, and Americana (via the Bronx + Puerto Rico + NOLA), but definitely with a punk ethos behind it (especially their latest album).
posted by elephantsvanish at 7:40 PM on March 18, 2018


Going back a few years, Kimya Dawson and Santigold, Lida Pimienta for super current
posted by moonlight on vermont at 7:41 PM on March 18, 2018 [1 favorite]


Check out the bands that played The Universe Is Lit fest in Oakland last year. The whole fest was black or brown fronted groups. Some of my favorites included Squid Ink, FUPU, Ugly, and Las Sucias.

Midnite Snaxxx is another really good band that fits the bill. They have a new 7" coming out this month. They've played some shows with Alice Bag, who also has a new record coming out soon.

And totally agree with Downtown Boys.

And check out Vagabon.
posted by kendrak at 9:41 PM on March 18, 2018 [3 favorites]


Allow me to introduce you to Versus. Ever since their first 7" singles in the early 90's (such as this one, Tin Foil Star) I have absolutely loved this band.

The Baluyut brothers are of Filipino descent, and (female) bassist Fontaine Toups sings on plenty of their songs (such as River).

If these sound a little too poppy for you (hey, they were on the Simple Machines and Teen Beat labels), give them a chance, letting some songs run all the way through. They do the soft-loud-soft rock dynamic thing.

And one of the great joys of my life is that they got back together about a decade ago and play shows once or twice a year. If you're in the NYC area you've got the best chance to see them, but they occasionally get called on to play music festivals (likely by the promoter who's as much a fan as me). Here they are on Facebook.
posted by intermod at 10:19 PM on March 18, 2018 [1 favorite]


Ashley Stevenson aka Slim Freedom.
posted by little eiffel at 10:22 PM on March 18, 2018


In addition to Alabama Shakes, there's Thunderbitch, which is also fronted by Brittany Howard.
posted by neushoorn at 1:13 AM on March 19, 2018


Mitski
Jay Som
posted by Desertshore at 5:32 AM on March 19, 2018


say sue me are a korean indie band who have a new album out next month.

non band were an early eighties japanese punk band.
posted by noloveforned at 5:58 AM on March 19, 2018


I LOVE Romeo Void! Came here to second them and to mention Shonen Knife! And maybe Cibo Matto? They're a little more on the pop side, but still fun. OH AND BABYMETAL.
posted by helloimjennsco at 7:06 AM on March 19, 2018


Maybe too obvious: the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
posted by rustcellar at 9:29 AM on March 19, 2018


Nonstop Body are an all-girl Korean oi band. Oi Oi Oi!
posted by cazoo at 10:07 AM on March 19, 2018 [1 favorite]




ESG are still touring occasionally, and are one of the most important american post-punk bands (they even have a Tony Wilson story, so there's that).

On the math rock side of things, there's tricot.
posted by lmfsilva at 12:16 PM on March 19, 2018




City Mouse
Sourpatch
The Tuts
Crying
posted by slomodinkens at 9:21 PM on March 21, 2018


I'm a bit late to the conversation, but wanted to throw in a plug for my Chicago-based co-worker's band, The Unlawful. (She's the lead singer.) Unfortunately, I've only seen them via YouTube but they've also got an EP that's better quality.
posted by jferg at 12:40 PM on March 25, 2018


« Older Simple but robust budgeting app   |   Help us plan a long weekend in Philly Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.