3 New Indie albums by women who rock

The '90s saw a new wave of female-fronted rock bands that had been something of a rarity before then. With the Riot Grrrl punk movement and the rise of indie labels willing to give voice to groups alternative to the mainstream, women became a new welcome norm in rock ever since. Lately I've been spinning three albums a lot that are either fronted or entirely composed and sung by women. Read on about their most recent, distinctive works.

Instant Holograms on Metal Film by Stereolab

Stereolab are a Franco-Anglo former couple whose bilingual, retro-futuristic sound has been one of the most unique in music since the early '90s. I previously wrote about one of five compilations of unreleased material they've released since their last album. However, they've finally released their first original album in 15 years. I'm ecstatic that it sounds just how I'd hoped the band would sound after all that time, not having lost their touch at all!

But what does a Stereolab album sound like?

• Equal parts whimsical and cool
• Songs that are propulsive and rhythmically enticing, but may shift into a more jamming or chill style partway through
• A mix of genres like jazz, lounge, psychedelia, electronica, and krautrock
• A variety of unexpected instrumentation like cornets, flutes, sax, synthesizers like the Korg, Moog and Roland, old organs like the Wurlitzer, Clavinet, Mellotron and Fender Rhodes, marimbas, glockenspiels and vibraphones
• Quirky touches like sound effects that may evoke a sci-fi lab or retro space age utopia
• Dense lyrics about philosophy, discourse en masse and personal, labor and economics (but enticingly sung to poppy melodies)
• English and French lyrics

Instant Holograms on Metal Film keeps all of that intact, while slightly updating the production quality of this album. There's not as much lo-fi guitar thrust as there was in their early albums. But in its place there's a vivid clarity that allows each instrument to audibly coexist and glisten like ear candy. Lyrics touch on the false promises of novelties on songs like "Colour Television" and the necessity of wisdom and courage for humanity to heal on the two-parter "If You Remember I Forgot How to Dream." It's a fantastic return to form and I hope a follow-up won't take nearly as long.

For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women) by Japanese Breakfast

Japanese Breakfast is the band name of Michelle Zauner (who was actually born in Seoul, South Korea). They broke out in 2021 with their third album, Jubilee, which won a place on many album of the year lists. That same year, Zauner's memoir Crying in H Mart was published to critical acclaim and became a New York Times bestseller (and is available here as a book group in a bag). Chronicling the loss of her mother to terminal cancer, the experience and reflection had a deep impact on Zauner and the shape of this album.

For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women) is naturally a much more forlorn album than their last. But that doesn't mean it's depressing. Rather, it has a deep and beautiful quality that's strengthened by more literary qualities. The album references Virginia Wolf's Orlando and in its closing track Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain. Zauner's voice is delicate throughout, painting scenes through lyrics about grief, parental estrangement ("Little Girl"), Greek myths ("Leda"), and toxic masculinity ("Mega Circuit"). The tunes are gentle with orchestral or harp accompaniment but can also build to a wall of sound fullnes. It's a slight listen at a little over 30 mins, but rewards repeat listens, opening up its stories and hooks in your mind each time.

I Quit by Haim

HAIM are three sisters who have been steadily solidifying their place in the pop and rock scene since 2013. The millennial trio have been seen on Taylor Swift's album Evermore, Charli XCX's self-titled LP, the Barbie soundtrack, and rapper Kid Cudi's Indicud. The oldest, Este, plays bass. The middle sister Danielle plays drums but also rhythm guitar. Youngest sister Alana plays lead guitar (she also starred in Licorice Pizza). They all sing interchangeably with distinct yet familial voices that can harmonize or stand apart.

Their fourth and newest album, I Quit, shows the sisters at their most eclectic mix of styles yet. Where earlier albums stayed solidly in the indie rock mold, I Quit has them lament dead-end flings with pop-funk on "Relationships," celebrate new love with disco touches on "Spinning," and admitting a once-good relationship is done on the Laurel Canyon styled "The farm." The album's central theme is the freedom to choose your path in life after cutting the past (even opening with a sample of George Michael's "Freedom"). The fluent style switch-ups the album takes reflect that idea. HAIM stretch themselves to try a lot in these 15 songs. While they may not all work for you, they've lost none of the catchiness that's given them such staying power this last decade.