New music recommendations

October 6, 2014 5:07 PM

I need new music in my life.

I have very little to no exposure to new music in my life and I'm getting bored of my old music. Most of these are five or more years old so I'm looking for similar things, but newer. I'm hoping some more music-savvy mefites can point me in the direction of new artists/songs I might like.

Older(ish) bands/artists I love:

The Fratellis
The Strokes
Franz Ferdinand
The Vaccines
White Stripes
Gorillaz
Chvrches
Vampire Weekend
The Kooks
Lily Allen
Panic! At The Disco
Dizzee Rascal
La Roux
Little Boots

Along with the artist, could you post which song or songs are the best introductory songs for me to listen to? Also, if anyone could recommend a podcast or internet radio that I could listen to which would alert me to new kinds of music like this, that would be awesome. Thanks!

posted by triggerfinger to Media & Arts (18 answers total)

Best answer: ZZ Ward.
posted by mibo at 6:35 PM on October 6, 2014

Best answer: If you like CHVRCHES, you'll almost certainly like Purity Ring. (I think of them as CHVRCHES's less-accessible siblings.) "Belispeak" would be a good place to start. You might also give Poliça a shot ("Chain My Name"'s what hooked me on them).
posted by asterix at 6:54 PM on October 6, 2014

Best answer: There's a lot here, and a lot there, but I'll just say that I bet you're going to enjoy Jukebox the Ghost.
posted by General Malaise at 7:59 PM on October 6, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: You might enjoy Joanna Gruesome, particularly Secret Surprise.
posted by troika at 8:00 PM on October 6, 2014

Best answer: Warpaint, Vertical Scratchers, Hospitality.
posted by umbú at 8:49 PM on October 6, 2014

Best answer: I like a lot of those same musicians and have recently discovered two fantastic online radio stations. The first is from California and is commercial free and listener supported, the second is from Chile (so the stuff in between songs will be in Spanish) but the music is largely English and a great mix of stuff from 80s to today.

http://www.radioparadise.com
http://www.radiozero.cl/
posted by Halo in reverse at 12:14 AM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Listen to FIP - (which I once posted a FPP about). I can think of no better way of filling up your "must pursue" list with great artists that you were probably not aware of.
posted by rongorongo at 12:47 AM on October 7, 2014

Best answer: Black Keys, Vulfpeck, Tame Impala, Youth Lagoon
posted by stinkfoot at 5:23 AM on October 7, 2014

Best answer: You might like the Yeah Yeah Yeah's first album (start with "Date with the Night"), Electric Six (start with "Night Vision" or "Dance Commander"), and Interpol (start with "Evil").

soma.fm is my favorite internet radio station; you might like the Indie Pop Rocks channel.

I find Spotify helpful for finding music based on what I already listen to. It shows a "related artists" list for each artist, and lists each artist's top five most popular songs, so you can quickly get an idea of whether you might like them. Also, you can use its Radio feature to start a playlist based on any song or artist.
posted by neushoorn at 6:19 AM on October 7, 2014

Best answer: For the podcast, try All Songs Considered.

For your music recommendation try Local Natives
posted by cnc at 8:34 AM on October 7, 2014

Best answer: I found a dozen of my favorite artists on the CBC Radio 3 Podcast. I discovered The Be Good Tanyas, Corb Lund, Buck 65 and lots of others here.
posted by workerant at 11:23 AM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I went through my monthly playlists for 2014, and here are a few artists/tracks you might be into (mostly on the electronic pop side of things):

Twin Peaks - Flavor
The Juan Maclean - A Simple Design
Wye Oak - Glory
Royksopp & Robyn - Do It Again
Hundred Waters - Out Alee
Wild Beasts - Wanderlust
Phantogram - Fall In Love
posted by naju at 12:52 PM on October 7, 2014

Best answer: I use iTunes. Every Tuesday, I download their 2 free songs (English and French because I'm in Canada). I'm getting a lot of alternative type music and learning about bands I would never have heard of. The type of music I'm getting is so good that I'm thinking of going with an iphone.
posted by Coffeetyme at 4:31 PM on October 7, 2014

Best answer: If you don't mind discovering some on your own.... There are free sampler packs and free songs on Amazon (I hardly ever see them on iTunes). Some are big names, some are those the studio's are trying to push, some are unsigned, there is a little of everything.

You can find their free songs here, just filter and hunt. Sometimes you find something you really like. All of the songs can be imported into iTunes.

I have purchased several albums from the artists I discovered in the free section.
posted by Leenie at 4:57 PM on October 7, 2014

Best answer: Sound Opinions is another podcast to check out for new artists. They interview artists, play clips of songs, and have live shows on their episodes. I like that it's interesting and not pretentious.

KEXP Song of the Day is on itunes under the podcast listings, and you can get free new songs and check out some new artists.

Also, you might like some new stuff from The Arcade Fire and Lykke Li.
posted by shortyJBot at 6:56 PM on October 7, 2014

Best answer: Anjou/A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Grouper, Julianna Barwick.
posted by box at 8:20 PM on October 7, 2014

Response by poster: Thank you for all the great suggestions! I haven't had a chance to listen to them yet as I've been busy with work yesterday and today, but I should have time tomorrow to put these into a playlist and go through them (along with the radio stations mentioned, if I can get them to stream on my phone). I can't wait!

(And thank you neushoorn for the Spotify tip. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that though I have a Spotify account, I've never used it, so I didn't realize it gave lists of similar bands PLUS allows me to build playlists. So, thank you!)
posted by triggerfinger at 8:30 PM on October 8, 2014

Best answer: I'm a little late to the party, but thought I'd add a few other recommendations.

Albums or singles released this year or last that you might enjoy (mostly on the garage/indie rock side of the spectrum to complement naju's electronic-leaning list above):

alt-J, This Is All Yours (2014). Sample song (and possibly my favourite track of the year so far): The Gospel of John Hurt.
EMA, The Future's Void (2014). Sample song: Satellites [possibly triggering video].
Royal Blood, Royal Blood (2014). Sample song: Little Monster.
Eagulls, Eagulls (2014). Sample song: Nerve Endings.
Esben and the Witch, A New Nature (2014). Sample song: No Dog.
The Walking Who, "With Roses" [single] (2014). Sample song: With Roses.
Portugal. The Man, Evil Friends (2013). Sample song: Atomic Man.
Veronica Falls [audio autoplay advisory], Waiting for Something to Happen (2013). Sample song: My Heart Beats.
PINS, Girls Like Us (2013). Sample song: Girls Like Us.
Horse Party, Cover Your Eyes (2013). Sample song: What Do You Need. No-one's ever heard of these guys, which is a shame. They're awesome.

Slightly older stuff that might (or might not) fit the bill:

Django Django. Sample song: Storm, off Django Django (2012).
Prince Rama. Sample song: So Destroyed, off Top 10 Hits of the End of the World (2012).
The Duke Spirit. Sample song: Surrender, off Bruiser (2011).
posted by Sonny Jim at 4:28 AM on October 9, 2014