Small Acts: familiar sounds from five artists you’ve never heard of.
Art by Ruby Rorty
Artists become big for a reason; whether it’s their unique voice, their production, or their lyricism, there’s something about them that skyrockets their career to stardom. If you’re looking to expand your music taste while still sticking to sounds you know and love, stay with me — we’ll find someone for you.
1. For fans of Joni Mitchell and Mazzy Star: Jessica Pratt
The first time I listened to Jessica Pratt, I knew I had stumbled upon something special. Her discography is mostly made up of little more than her lithely fingerpicked guitar and her spectral, almost otherworldly voice. On any given track, her sound can resemble Brazilian bossa nova or traditional English folk, and yes — Joni Mitchell and Mazzy Star — but it never sticks to one sound, always changing and flitting from one thing to another. Your brain latches onto one of her melodies, thinking you’ve found something familiar, and then Pratt evades expectations entirely. Born in San Francisco and based in Los Angeles, Pratt has a small but loyal fanbase and a power in her quiet sound. If you’re a fan of Joni Mitchell’s earlier work and Mazzy Star’s mysterious, otherworldly vocals, give Jessica Pratt a listen.
2. For fans of Phoebe Bridgers: Skullcrusher
If you fell for Phoebe Bridgers when she released Stranger in the Alps, Skullcrusher is for you. Singer Helen Ballentine’s elfin appearance and soft voice juxtaposes wonderfully with her stage moniker of Skullcrusher. Though her arrangements are typically sparse, they’re far from boring; Ballentine plays with banjo and guitar, synthesizers and multiple tracks, and the occasional nature sound. Her lyrics, like her name, provide the darker contrast to her gentle sound and demeanor — in “Trace”, a song off her eponymous first EP, she contemplates a relationship that has long outlived itself: “If I get up, will it be worse?/If I stay here, what is that worth?” Her discography is still preliminary — it consists of two 15-minute EPs and a smattering of singles, all released within the past year and a half — but I look forward to what she’ll do in the future.
3. For fans of Patti Smith: Shilpa Ray
Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Shilpa Ray has been in the game since 2004 and is still somehow criminally underrated. The daughter of immigrants from India, Ray made waves as the lead singer of indie rock band Beat the Devil, where she established her talent for the unusual with her unique fusion of bluesy, indie rock, harmonium, and Indian time signatures. Her talent for powerful and politically relevant — yet still catchy and original — lyrics made her a force to be reckoned with in the indie rock scene. When she’s roaring into a mic, her poetic lyrics combined with her DIY-punk sound recall punk-poet legend Patti Smith; when she’s singing, her voice is full and powerful, too big to be contained. One of Ray’s newer releases, “Bootlickers of the Patriarchy”, perfectly exemplifies the singer’s range; she begins the song strong and melodic, sounding like a singer in a jazz club when she belts “You think you can sell solidarity? Bitch, don’t patronize me/You held a press conference the day/you sold your sisters out.” Less than a minute later, the song changes gears entirely to an electro-rock track reminiscent of the 80s. Ray is still making music: “Bootlickers of the Patriarchy” dropped in 2021, and her music is still as relevant as ever. If you’re looking for punk-meets-indie-rock with a sound all its own, Shilpa Ray is the one for you.
4. For fans of FKA Twigs: Spellling
Multi-instrumentalist Chrystia Cabral, known professionally as Spellling, is quite honestly in a league of her own. As an artist, Cabral is chameleonic — one minute, her voice is light and airy, evocative of Kate Bush; the next, it’s deep and velvety, weaving effortlessly through layers of synth and swelling orchestral instruments. Her latest album, The Turning Wheel, is a venture from her previous murky synth sounds, relying instead on a foundation of piano interwoven with horns, strings, harps, bassoons, and even banjos. The album’s first half is airy and euphoric; Emperor with an Egg (my personal favorite song off the album) exemplifies this perfectly with its dynamic pace changes and genre-defying sound. The second half of the album is more evocative of her earlier work with its darker, more satiny sound, but the production is fresh and charismatic, unlike anything she’s done before. If you’re a fan of FKA Twigs in Magdalene, give Spellling a shot.
5. For fans of Slowdive and The Smashing Pumpkins: Narrow Head
Formed in 2013 as a reaction to the lull in the shoegaze/noise rock genre, “Narrow Head” is one of this decade’s earliest to experiment with an infusion of shoegaze, pop-punk, and post-hardcore. At a first listen, the albums are evocative of Slowdive’s shimmering sound and The Smashing Pumpkins’ earthy grunge, but Narrow Head’s music is dense, down-to-earth, and unafraid to stray from its predecessors. 12th House Rock, the band’s second full recording, exemplifies their range wonderfully. Every done-before riff is met with a thoughtful vocal delivery or an innovative guitar melody, creating a fresh reinvention on a classic sound. The fuzzed-out guitars, swaying volume, and lead vocalist Jacob Duarte’s wispy whine above it all will hypnotize you. If you’re looking for a distillation of the greatest alt-rock and shoegaze moments of the 90’s, try Narrow Head.
Edited by Tobias Abelmann, editor of Lists
Cover art by Ruby Rorty