Many people listen to music whether it’s Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter or Taylor Swift. But even though there are plenty of more popular and mainstream artists, there are also plenty of artists in general who tend to fall under the radar. There are millions of songs available and millions of artists working to produce music, but only a handful receive recognition. With so many artists available, there are bound to be opportunities for discovery. These are my reviews for artists with under 6,000 followers on Amazon Music who I think produce music that deserves more recognition.
No. 1: Friday Pilots Club
Friday Pilots Club is from Chicago and produces guitar based alternative and punk music mostly centering around themes of love, ambition, pain and overall a wide variety of topics. They also produce more vibey sounding songs as well. If I had to make a comparison, I’d say some of their songs sound similar to Imagine Dragons’ style such as Friday Pilots Club’s ‘Breaking My Bones.’ My personal favorite song would have to be ‘Better With’ which also has the ‘HELL IS REAL’ sign on the single cover. ‘Better With’ is about needing whatever another person wants from the narrator, though the song avoids the use of graphic imagery or explicit language. I love the artist because their music sounds distinctly theirs while also having enough variety across their songs to not all sound the same which is an issue some artists with a unique sound have.
No. 2: Jutes
This artist is hard to define due to having musical aspects of rap, electronic, alternative, metal, rock and so on. Most of the artist’s songs are about longing and lust. I say longing rather than love because the lyrics tend to lean more tragic in tone rather than purely sweet. Sometimes the lyrics can be harder to pick out if not read, but the music is more carried by the dynamic backing music than the vocals anyways. My favorite song by Jutes is ‘Safe Word’ from his ‘Sleepyhead’ album which is about not wanting a safe word during physically intimate acts because the singer’s masochism and lack of boundaries make it pointless. I really like the drum heavy music paired with echoey effects of the vocals. Additionally, I also love the artist for the pop aspects of his music without falling fully into the category. It’s fairly decent to listen to when I’m working on something and need to stay awake and has a memorable sound that constantly gets stuck in my head.
No. 3: Mothica
Mothica is the pen name of McKennzie Ellis who produces an indie electronic pop style of music that often carries gothic themes. My personal favorite song by her would have to be ‘Oblivion for Two’ from her ‘Kissing Death’ album. ‘Oblivion for Two’ is about finding comfort in the company of another and wanting to escape reality with them until death. I really love the song because it’s bittersweet and it takes a few listens for the full depth of the lyrics to sink in. I also like the artist in general because the songs feel extremely genuine and include darker themes without sounding overly pretentious; they have the feel of coming from personal experience to some extent.
No. 4: The Wrecks
The Wrecks make indie rock with themes of depression, love, toxicity, and so on. Their songs, despite the themes, tend to be upbeat, making them great for casual listening just for fun even with friends. They even have some sweet songs like their single ‘Always, Everytime,’ although that one is a bit different from what they usually produce. My favorite song by them is ‘James Dean’ from their ‘Panic Vertigo’ album which is about not being perfect like James Dean but facing the reality and making do with it. I like the song because it’s not really a depression song but could also work as such despite the upbeat and catchy tune. I like the artist because they seem like their songs would fit well in a playlist alongside Green Day.
No. 5: Dutch Melrose
Dutch Melrose mostly produces alternative and indie music with themes of lust mostly unfiltered in the lyrics. The artist tends to produce singles rather than albums. Among those, ‘Pretty Please’ is my favorite. ‘Pretty Please’ is a song made in collaboration with Benny Mayne and is about begging for sexual satisfaction and loving all of the consequences that come from it regardless of what they are. I love the song because it’s self deprecating but in an entirely carefree way that seems like it could even be proud. I love the artist as a whole because the music is unapologetically provocative and deviant. It speaks from a heterosexual man’s perspective without being demeaning towards women even in the songs where a romantic love is not necessarily implied.
