The philosopher Huey Lewis once said there are only two types of music: Good and bad. While rock music sonically and lyrically has the room to allow bands to be a bit more free compared to most other genres, trying to find a niche and some new sound is difficult. Again, though, just because the sound of an artist isn't unique doesn't mean it's bad.
Bands used to be made or broken by word-of-mouth. A new band on the scene could be one that doesn't last if they have a couple of bad gigs and people don't show up. That still happens to a degree, but more so record companies force bands upon the general public and those artists sink or swim based on sales.
That's not really what music is about, though, is it? Just because someone sells a lot of records doesn't truly make them artistically worthy. But the following three bands are worth your time.
Must listen No. 1: Gurriers
Ireland is producing a lot of great new bands, and Gurriers is among the best. They only have two songs out, but they are also have sold out a bunch of upcoming shows based on the strength of those singles. And if you look on Amazon Music, don't get this version of Gurriers confused with another band called The Gurriers (who put out an album in 2016) or you will be quite disappointed.
The song to start with, "Approachable," starts off a bit like "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys (not a bad thing), but quickly turns into what sounds Joy Division on speed. While Gurriers is currently and most definitely in the post-punk subgenre, there is clearly a punk approach to the vocals and lyrics.
Must listen No. 2: Girl Scout
Sweden seems to rule at Eurovision most years, but Girl Scout is not your Eurovision-type band, nor would they likely want to be. It is odd to think of Girl Scout as heavily influenced by jazz, but that happens to be the case, especially with singer Emma Jansson. She toiled for years in the Stockholm jazz scene before helping form the band during the COVID pandemic shutdown.
Jansson and guitarist Viktor Spasov both played jazz shows until, due to the pandemic, there were none to play. The duo at times played Burt Bacharach at mixers to make money. Luckily for them and the rest of the world, Jansson and Spasov picked up two other members who were more into indie rock and the jazz of Jansson and Spasov morphed into more of a Belle and Sebastian feel.
While it would be a bit of a sonic shock to go from Gurriers to Girl Scout in one listen, both bands have merit. Feeling rage against the world, Gurriers is the band to listen to. Need to just chill and relax, go with Girl Scout. As unlike Gurriers, Girl Scout has an entire EP you can drive around listening to in your car.
Depending on how much you trust me, I would advise starting with "Weirdo." The music is lilting, while the vocals are a bit more rangy. The energy will give you a good idea of what Girl Scout is generally like. You won't regret it.
Must listen No. 3: Deijuvhs
If you have TikTok, you might have already heard of Deijuvhs. He had a song called "Seraphim" which blew up on the app. But that song alone doesn't tell his whole story. Deijvhs likes to mix up what he listens to and what he listens to appears to come out in what music he produces. That's a good thing because the music he puts out is really good.
Heck, even within the same song he sometimes mixes subgenres, like the near 80s New Wave feel early on "Sweet One" and then changing to more of a Tricky vibe in the last minute of the song. But Deijvhs pulls it off so effortlessly and cohesiveness that it all makes sense.
"Pipe Dreams" is still different than most things you will hear, but is solidly based in nu metal. There is enough space in the song to simply be rap, but when Deijvhs enters the heavier bass it makes for a sound that quite grand and unique.
So getting back to what I was saying on page one of this article, while it is difficult to find a sound that is different, Deijvhs appears to have no difficulty with that. He might be chalenged if someone were to say, "Maybe you should make a song that is perfectly linear." But that would do a disservice to the artist and the rest of world.