"Britpop" sound - female singers?

May 2, 2008 6:39 AM

What are some "britpop" sounding groups/acts that feature a female singer? (a la The Verve/ Oasis/ Soundtrack of our Lives... you know, rockers/flag wavers/ ballads/psychedelic) thanks
posted by mrmarley to media & arts (31 comments total)

I used to like Sleeper
posted by daveyt at 6:45 AM on May 2

Elastica, Lush, Echobelly come to mind quickly...
posted by kuperman at 6:46 AM on May 2

The Cranberries, St. Etienne.
posted by iconomy at 6:49 AM on May 2

Portishead
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 6:51 AM on May 2

Yaz
posted by Koko at 6:52 AM on May 2

The Cranberries: Not British
Yaz: Too early to be Britpop
posted by biffa at 6:55 AM on May 2

Catatonia.
Transvision Vamp.
The Primitives.
Texas.
Sort of, Garbage.
posted by veedubya at 7:03 AM on May 2

How about Charlotte Hatherley or The Long Blondes?
posted by bcwinters at 7:03 AM on May 2

The Beautiful South surely counts.
posted by Banky_Edwards at 7:08 AM on May 2

Dubstar?
posted by thirteenkiller at 7:13 AM on May 2

The Cranberries: Not British

But they have the britpop sound, which I thought was the question.

According to this list, Belle and Sebastian are britpop.... ?
posted by iconomy at 7:14 AM on May 2

Sleeper
Catatonia
Salad
Echobelly
Powder
Elastica
Cranberries
Belly
The Cardigans
Dubstar
Skunk Anansie
Lush
Kenickie
posted by fire&wings at 7:17 AM on May 2 [2 favorites]

Rilo Kiley?
posted by thirteenkiller at 7:18 AM on May 2 [1 favorite]

Black Box Recorder
posted by thirteenkiller at 7:20 AM on May 2

Ladytron
posted by Alison at 7:22 AM on May 2

The Sundays.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:27 AM on May 2

Garbage?
posted by sanka at 7:54 AM on May 2

I second the recommendations for Catatonia and echobelly (you can hear both at last.fm). Republika might also work for you.
posted by crush-onastick at 8:29 AM on May 2

Sons and Daughters (Scottish)
posted by exquisite_deluxe at 8:52 AM on May 2

They've been mentioned, but let me second...
Belle & Sebastian
Texas
Portishead
St. Etienne

and let me add Bjork.
posted by Detuned Radio at 9:12 AM on May 2

2^nd-ing Salad and Elastica! The rest of fire&wings' list is decent as far as I know, actually. I hate boy singers and those scratch my itch.
posted by cowbellemoo at 9:17 AM on May 2

Curve.
posted by drezdn at 9:35 AM on May 2

According to this list, Belle and Sebastian are britpop.... ?

Well, they are British.
posted by influx at 9:42 AM on May 2

Let me second Elastica, they were an incredibly important part of Britpop, and not just because Justine Frischmann shagged first Suede's Brett Anderson and then Blur's Damon Albarn. The first Elastica album is amazing.

Also, Detuned Radio, I'm sorry, Björk is not Britpop

you can't have her, she's ours :)
posted by Kattullus at 9:46 AM on May 2

The Rosebuds, Velocity Girl.
posted by littlerobothead at 9:47 AM on May 2

No way to Bjork and Belle and Sebastian.

2nding The Cardigans.
posted by ludwig_van at 11:06 AM on May 2

The Heartthrobs
posted by Thorzdad at 11:42 AM on May 2

Pale Saints.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:12 PM on May 2

There are a bunch of British bands here which I wouldn't stick into the britpop category. Belle & Sebastian are more a (I hate this term, but bear with me) twee sound I guess, rather than britpop.

So, little debate aside, I'd echo people saying Elastica (bit of a Blur link there!), the Cranberries, Catatonia for sure, and Skunk Anansie (maybe Stoosh or Post Orgasmic Chill than the harsher-sounding Paranoid & Sunburnt). Perhaps also check out early stuff by the Delgados; they switched between a female and male lead singer in the form of Emma Pollock and Alun Woodward.

Btw great question! I'm going to nostalgia my socks off to Catatonia, just you try and stop me. Strange Glue; excellent.
posted by eponymouse at 2:14 PM on May 2

everything on here (a lot of what's been listed is great, but ain't britpop).
posted by Leon at 3:56 PM on May 2 [1 favorite]

Sleeper, Echobelly, and St. Etienne were the best of the bunch (and they didn't blatantly rip off other bands like Elastica others). Argh, I thought I was going to be the only person saying Powder, but fire&wings beat me to it (I've found it extremely hard to track down a lot of Powder stuff here in the US.. I've been trying to get their album on eBay for years)!
posted by Mael Oui at 8:56 PM on May 2