We still seem to live in a world where female artists are underrated. Thankfully, the Grammy Awards featured many female artists up for top awards, but these were mostly pop stars with the same kind of sound. That is both good and bad.
At least, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish are getting the attention they deserve. Let's hope that lasts as music can be cyclical and soon we might just get back to male-driven boring rock bands. Since many women were nominated for Grammys and sold millions of records in 2023, that does not mean record companies will revert back to boring retreads of Justin Bieber once sales start to dip.
Even if nothing does not change, we can still look back on the recent past and see some albums by female musical artists were greatly undervalued. There are many, of course. The four albums listed below are just a snippet but worth your time to listen.
These albums by female artists in the 2000s were hugely undervalued
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (2006)
Neko Case always brought the boys to the playground who were truly the cool kids. The ones who would wander off and listen to Dwight Yoakam when their parents were listening to Patsy Cline. That is kind of what Neko Case is, though: Patsy Cline with a mean streak. And we should be thankful for that.
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood is a bit of an intentionally odd album anyway. Most of the songs are based on fairy tales of the kind you would tell at night. Narratives of misfits who some how find hope in the dark. The songs brood along but Neko Case's voice and melodies are far too charismatic to be bored. These are tracks to hear on long drives across the country.
Two of the best songs among an entire album of winners are "Hold On, Hold On" and the bonus track "The Needle Has Landed." "Hold On, Hold On" features lyrics such as "I leave the party at 3 a.m./Alone, thank God/With Valium from the bride/It's the devil I love, it's the devil I love/And that's as funny as real love/And that's as real as true love." While "The Needle Has Landed" has "The needle touched down from a semitrailer/Took the name of your town from a sharktooth freighter/And if I knew then what's so obvious now/You'd still be here." Tom Waits is somewhere smiling.
Missy Higgins - The Sound of White (2004)
This was Missy Higgins' debut album and it reached No. 1 on her native Australia's album charts. I point this out because I do not want to make this sound like The Sound of White is Higgins' only good album because that would be false. Her first three full-length records are all fantastic. But The Sound of White stands out because Higgins produced a mature record as if she had been making studio albums for 10 years.
She is in full command of what her sound should be. She borrows from folk, jazz, and rock, but finds her own mellow niche. Her melodies are brilliant and often tender, but she rarely hits a bad note. She also understands how to augment the beauty within each track by creating some amazing bridges.
One song on the album, "All for Believing," was written when Higgins was still in high school. The song also won a competition for unsigned recording artists and Higgins was offered several after the competition. She signed with Eleven. "All for Believing" is a good song, but far from the best on the record.
The true winners are "The Special Two," "Scar," and "They Weren't There." All the tracks on the record, however, are tinged with a little darkness, but stunningly bold in the open emotion. Higgins also finds a way to make you feel as if the world is going to be fine. For such a young artist at the time, she had a worldly wisdom we all get to share in.
Florence and the Machine - Lungs (2009)
Like the artist that follows on this list, Florence Welch and her group of machinists certainly have gotten their share of adoration from critics. Plus, the band has sold a number of records. But if you are standing in the company of others and start discussing Florence and the Machine, how many of the other people truly know the excellence of the music? Oh, they should know, but do they?
From the very beginning of her career, Florence has had to put a stop to what record companies wanted her to be. Maybe a bit more Pat Benatar than Kate Bush. Both artists are great in their own way, but Florence never wanted to be Benatar because that might feel a bit too constricting. Instead, her songs are darker and scarier than what pop singers normally would do.
On Lungs, Florence masters the same kind of thing that the Smashing Pumpkins or Radiohead might do: Begin softly and end with a bang. Album opener "Dog Days Are Over" dances around like a witch in the woods but far more jovial, "Kiss with a Fist" starts off angry, and for good reason, and only gets more mad as the song rages on.
Then there are gems such as "Between Two Lungs" which is a song about a kiss. There is no hint of darkness to the track. But the track is an example of Florence's versatility and wonder and why her music simply needs to be mentioned in greater circles of otherwise normal people.
Alison Krauss and Union Station - New Favorite (2001)
Alison Krauss certainly has gotten respect from critics, the Grammy Awards, and fellow musicians who know a thing or five about making good music, such as Robert Plant, but the rest of the world needs to love Alison Krauss a lot more than they do. Her voice is pure and nearly without peer, and she is one of the better violin players you will hear in bluegrass or anywhere else. But everything that truly separates Krauss from most others is showcased on the amazing New Favorite.
This album might have been overshadowed by other Krauss music, however. The record came out the same year as the soundtrack and movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou? That album sold millions of copies and helped some get to know Krauss's sound, but the soundtrack may have also done a disservice to New Favorite. While people were loving Krauss on O Brother, they were missing her excellence on the other album.
This is not a classic bluegrass album. There is as much folk as country. Many of the songs are tinged with at least a little bit of darkness as if you are entering a haunted house with some of the most beautiful music you will ever hear. But there are also enough melancholy love songs to keep your faith in humanity going.
Some standouts on the record include "The Lucky One" (where Krauss's voice just seems to float along in space), "I'm Gone," and the title track. There is a certain bravery to ending a record with the song "New Favorite." The only bluegrass to the track is the steel guitar, but otherwise, its somberness could be the basis for a black metal song.