5 artists every female vocal fan should know about

[General Kenobi]

Ok, the music forum needs help! I thought we could make a thread for the female vocal fans, something that could be bumped with new stuff as time goes on.

To keep this easy on the eyes and those who are looking to find some new female vocal music let's limit the number of artists/bands that you recommend to a total of 5. I'll set up a format that can be pasted so we have a bit more than a list of names and albums.

Artist:

Album:

File Under:

Recommended For Fans Of:

Artist Website:

Sample Listen:

Music Best For:

Reviews:

My Thoughts:

Artist: Splashdown (aka Melissa Kaplan) yes some of you know my love for her voice from another forum

Album: Blueshift, Possibilities, Stars and Garters

File Under: Electronic/Rock/Chill/Something really cool I don't even know about

Recommended For Fans Of: Beth Orton, Jem, Imogen Heap, Poe

Artist Website: The band has since broken up but good news is you can legally download all their stuff for free http://www.sadena.com/music/splashdown/index.html

Sample Listen: See above and check out Mayan Pilot, Sugar High, and 50%

Music Best For: Anything!

Reviews: Hard to find but they were a much loved underground band with a very unique flavor

My Thoughts: My #1 favorite female vocalist, she sounds like no one else and I never get sick of listening to her. Her voice is very diverse and she has an amazing variety of dynamics. She now sings for Universal Hall Pass http://www.universalhallpass.com/sounds.html

Artist: Jem

Album: Finally Woken

File Under: Rock/Pop/Acoustic/Alt

Recommended For Fans Of: Splashdown, Rachael Yamagata, Poe

Artist Website: http://www.jem-music.net/

Sample Listen: Amazon.com: Finally Woken: Jem: Music

Music Best For: Anything!

Reviews: see link above

My Thoughts: Refreshing! Wonderful voice with catchy melodies and a good variety of tracks that rock and sooth.

Artist: Clare Fader & The Vaudevillains

Album: Seventh and Trade, The Elephants Baby

File Under: Jazz/Blues/World/???

Recommended For Fans Of: Katie Melua, Janet Klein,

Artist Website: http://www.clarefader.com/listen.html

Sample Listen: see above

Music Best For: It's pretty mellow so good for background and relaxed listening

Reviews: check amazon

My Thoughts: Different but very addictive! A++++ for style, mood, variety, and dynamics!

All list a couple more later, what can you share?

[Dusty Chalk]

I will definitely be contributing to this thread (I agree, the music forum needs help), but just wanted to pipe in for now and say I really dig that Jem album -- so much so that I went and saw her live. Pretty snappy live.

Will probably post some of these:

Beth Gibbons...Halou...Feist...Sigur Ros (J/K)...

[General Kenobi]

It takes a little time to copy, paste, and add all th info so it is a minor PITA but this could be a good female vocal resource. Something that goes beyond a list of names and albums that have no genre or real meaning to readers trying to sift through what they may like or dislike. So do come back and add your favs!

[Dusty Chalk]

Artist: Jenifer Smith (also records as Code Mesa)

Album: Code Mesa (most easily obtainable album; recorded as Jenifer Smith [note: only one 'n' in Jenifer]...yes, it's confusing -- link is to half.com, whereat one can obtain the album for 0.75 + shipping -- it's worth it)

File Under: alternative, pop

Recommended For Fans Of: "Where Hides Sleep" by Alison Moyet; Remain In Light-era Talking Heads without the percussion and David Byrne; Philip Glass as performed by vocalists

Artist Website: http://www.codemesa.com/

Sample Listen: Plague Dogs, others (directly from the source, so legal)

Music Best For: listening

Reviews:

My Thoughts: Completely under-rated -- you can only get her one album easily -- I was lucky enough to get CD Select 1 & 2 directly from her (my "reward" for "finding" her, she says -- really nice and humble), so effectively only have two albums by her, but need to get everything else she's ever recorded. If you're in the Rhode Island area, she collaborates a lot, and is an active member of the local music scene there.

[aerius]

Artist: Sarah Slean

Album: Night Bugs

File Under: Jazzy weird piano babe rock

Recommended For Fans Of: Cute Canadian singer chicks

Artist Website: http://sarahslean.com/

Sample Listen: There's some on her site, but they're off another album

Music Best For: Chillin' relaxing, letting your thoughts wander

Reviews: http://www.newbeats.com/sleaninterview.html

My Thoughts: She writes timeless music and has a pretty unique voice. Like Tori Amos or Sarah McLachlan, you're not going to mistake her songs for anyone else. See if you can find a sample of "Sweet Ones" somewhere, even if you have to piss off the RIAA. Did I mention she's cute? She's cute. Mmmmm...Sarah....

[en480c4]

Artist: Elysian Fields

Album: Elysian Fields, Dreams That Breathe Your Name, Bleed Your Cedar, Queen of the Meadow

File Under: Noir-Rock

Recommended For Fans Of: Dark, moody music with sultry vocals... I can't think of another band quite like them.

Artist Website: http://www.elysianmusic.com/ seems to be the best choice.

Sample Listen: ?Black Acres? from Queen of the Meadow

Music Best For: Relaxing, driving or plugging away at work.

Reviews: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:6xkzu3tgan6k

My Thoughts: Jennifer Charles? voice over Oren Bloedow?s music creates an atmosphere hard to find anywhere else. Also worth checking out is her work on Chris Vrenna?s project Tweaker, where her work on ?Crude Sunlight? from 2 A.M. Wakeup Call is a highlight of the album.

Artist: Nina Nastasia

Album: Dogs, The Blackened Air, Run To Ruin

File Under: Sparse and haunting

Recommended For Fans Of: Patty Griffin, Mazzy Star, Neko Case I guess...

Artist Website: http://www.tgrec.com/bands/band.php?id=15

Sample Listen: ?A Dog?s Life? & ?Nobody Knew Her? from Dogs, ?Run, All You?? & everything else from The Blackened Air

Music Best For: Anything, really..

Reviews: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:t2ke4j874waq

My Thoughts: Some of the best productions I?ve heard, the instrumentation and vocals are perfectly suited to the songs. I would have to say The Blackened Air kind of feels like a companion piece to Bonnie ?Prince? Billy?s (Will Oldham) I See A Darkness, where there is endless beauty to be found in the dark and ominous songs.

These take longer than I thought... I'll put some thoughts together on some more and write them up when I have a chance.

[tkam]

Thanks for the recommendations guys I'm going to check out some of these albums, keep em coming

[blessingx]

I'm a bit lazy to cross-reference bands, etc. So ignore if you want, but my big finds over the last few years are:

Kate Rusby - Little Lights, Ten

Hem - Rabbit Songs, Eveningland

Cesaria Evora - self-titled, Very Best Of

Gillian Welch - Time (the Revelator), Soul Journey

Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, Blacklisted

[HiWire]

Jane Monheit... both her current Sony album and her back-catalogue, including the new hits collection.

[Dusty Chalk]

Artist: Madeleine Peyroux

Album: Careless Love

File Under: jazz, easy listening

Recommended For Fans Of: Billie Holiday, Diana Krall

Artist Website: madeleinepeyroux.com

Sample Listen: artist website

Music Best For: pretending you're a fan of Billie Holiday

Reviews: google for it

My Thoughts: I don't typically like this genre of music, but something about Madeleine Peyroux really struck something...I don't know, listen for yourself, judge for yourself

[Dusty Chalk]

Artist: Halou

Album: Wiser, or the soon to be released Wholeness & Separation

File Under: indietronica

Recommended For Fans Of: mellower Lush, poppier Seefeel, Curve, Lamb, et al

Artist Website: pretty straightforward, also myspace

Sample Listen: new album (see either of the above sites, they're pushing it pretty hard)

Music Best For: late night headphone listening

My Thoughts: her voice makes my toes curl -- in a good way. I love that "girly" kind of voice. Plus, they write the greatest alterna-pop songs.

Note: they're doing a live show in Frisco on 4/1 -- if you're in the area, go, I will envy you.

[thrice]

Artist: Artemis

Album: Gravity, Undone

File Under: Trip-Hop, Electronica, Down-tempoish

Recommended For Fans Of: Music, life, love, hot chicks singing about mystical universe ype stuff, Portishead, Daughter Darling

Artist Website: http://www.artemis.fm/

Sample Listen: "Undone," "Fountain of Life," "Angel," "Beautiful Life"

Music Best For: Chilling out and relaxing

Reviews:

My Thoughts: I heard this album at Hirsch's place and fell in love immediately. Her voice is heavenly and the soundscapes are wonderous....or something like that.

[en480c4]

Artist: Patty Griffin

Album: Living With Ghosts, Flaming Red, 1,000 Kisses, Impossible Dream

File Under: Folky Singer-Songwriter

Recommended For Fans Of: Strong character-based songs with stunning vocals with a folk/blues/alt-country edge.

Artist Website: http://www.pattygriffin.com/ (official), http://www.pattygriffin.net/ (unofficial)

Sample Listen: ?Forgiveness? from Living With Ghosts, ?Change? and "Blue Sky" from Flaming Red, ?Rain" and "Making Pies? from 1,000 Kisses, "Useless Desires" & "Top Of The World" from Impossible Dream

Music Best For: Relaxing, or just settling in for some great listening.

Reviews: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jqk0ikz6bb69

My Thoughts: Patty Griffin is an amazing songwriter. Everything from her acoustic tracks to full-on rockers hits with an emotional intensity that's difficult to describe. Perhaps her strongest asset is her voice, which can go from innocent and vulnerable to angry and full of intensity on command. I cant' stand don't care for Dave Matthews, but I do have to thank him for signing her to his label, ATO, after she was dropped by her previous label. The two albums she's recorded with ATO are stunning.