The Sky: Legendary and Popular Artists
Deftones
Deftones’ sound is a very unique one.
Backed by not only great music, but great emotions and feelings, from soft to heavy, from dark to aggressive, from screeches and wails to whispers, and from slow to fast paced riffs and drum beats, their music displays it all.
In a genre considered creatively bankrupt, this is genuinely new metal.
Kanye West
Kanye West represents breaking the mold. He is one of the most divisive artists of this century.
There isn’t much left to say about Ye. Whether its through changing the style of his music or saying the most outrageous things, he borders on the line of reality or persona.
Ye is iconic or was iconic. He hasn’t been the greatest person but his revolutionization of rap will forever cement him as a legend in music.
Above the Surface: Artists who recently broke into the mainstream
TV Girl
TV Girl is the perfect gateway into the sound of dream pop.
Listeners are drawn in by the fun samples and retro aesthetic that TV girl creates. The psychedelic late-night sound gives a feeling of euphoric, highlife bliss.
Their music sounds like a love letter, with a sound that creates a vibe that no other could replicate.
Faye Webster
Faye Webster is endearing and relatable without ever lapsing into total fondue. She knows exactly how to roll with life’s punches, and how to find the humor in a vulnerable moment.
Her work portrays some 70s jazz, R&B, and indie influences. Many have described it as hard to pin down, but Webster’s versatile personality is the core of her music.
Under the Surface: Artists who have not found a mainstream appeal
The Garden
The Garden is a musical enigma in the sense that it’s hard to predict what the duo will do next.
The twin brothers use nonsensical themes and over the top lyrics, packed with sarcasm, humor, and loads of energy. Their post-punk style is broken up by goofy sounds or a lo-fi atmosphere.
The Garden is a band that is so hard to classify, they made their own genre “Vada Vada.”
100 Gecs
No artist to date, has achieved the level of self-abandoning fun 100 gecs embodies while maintaining top level, boundary pushing quality, crafting a perfect balance between charming irreverence and emotional honesty.
Even with a whimsically digital sound and wildly unpredictable song structure, 100 gecs still manages to convey real emotion with vulnerable lyrics alongside their crass nonsense.
If you get it, you get it, if you don’t…
The Depths: Most unique artists who are stuck in the underground
Arca
Arca has been different her entire life. Her music is a reflection of herself.
As a Latin nonbinary trans woman, she’s redefined the role of the diva for a new generation. As she defies expectations of genre and gender, there’s a radical freedom that runs through all of Arca’s work.
From the very beginning, She has swung from amoebic abstractions to spleen-crushing club bangers and from tender arias to Kevlar-coated reggaetón.
Lil Ugly Mane
Travis Miller’s most famous moniker, Lil Ugly Mane, is one of the most unique projects ever.
Ranging from brutal and unapologetic hip-hop to a much more introspective Hypnagogic Pop, LUM has done it all. His music is peaceful, depressing, anxiety inducing, all melted together into a hallucinogenic reality of puppets and birds.
Warm, haunted, lovely and broken, his music provides you no roadmap to its secrets except the invitation to just listen and find them for yourself.
