We’re all aware of the many popular artists of today, but popular artists aren’t the only ones who make music. There are many great artists who aren’t as well known as they should be and deserve much more attention.

1. Cavetown

 One artist that you may or may not have heard of is Cavetown. Robin Skinner, also known as Cavetown, is a musician from Oxford England and multi-instrumentalist known for his mixture of indie rock, lo-fi beats and mellow ballads with unique and incredibly meaningful lyrics. You may have heard of his songs from trends on Tik Tok. For example, the choruses of his songs “Boys Will Be Bugs” and “Devil Town”. Or you  may have also heard a remix of his song “This Is Home” in animation memes across YouTube. Skinner is also known for his personality on YouTube. His channel is called Cavetown and His first video was song he wrote called “-Haunted Lullaby-”posted on October 23rd, 2013. It is titled “-Haunted Lullaby-” His channel was always music based but also contains vlogs including him, his friends and his pets who are very popular with his followers. Skinner is an advocate for positivity and kindness and is overall a great influence, especially for his younger fans. Some good starter songs if you plan on listening to him are Fool, Lemon Boy and Juliet.

2. IC3PEAK

Imagine being sent to jail for spreading a message of equality and  injustice in government through your freedom of speech. What would you do in that situation? Well, this seemingly strange world is a reality for the experimental electronic/hip hop duo IC3PEAK. Based in Moscow, Vocalist Anastasia (Nastya) Kreslina  and producer Nikolay (Nick) Kostylev are known for their unique music that they describe as “Audiovisual terror”.  Their controversy began with their song “Death No More” or “Смерти Больше Нет” where in their lyrics Kreslina describes filling her eyes with kerosene and all of Russia watching her as she burns. The Russian government took great offence to this song and decided to take action. They shut down IC3PEAK’s shows and began to restrict many modern artists greatly. This caused protests against the government and for artists (including IC3PEAK) to start having their shows in secret. IC3PEAK deserves a lot more love, so give them a listen. Some good starter songs are Сказка (Fairytale), Смерти Больше Нет (Death No More), and Яд (Poison).

3. AJJ

From angsty bluegrass that borrow lyrics from The Cure, to folk punk with images of death, anxiety, and an existential crisis while still being just as full of angst. AJJ, throughout all the many changes they’ve gone through, they still have the same energy as they did many years ago. Formed in 2004 by Singer and guitarist Sean Bonnette,  Bassist Ben Gallaty, and drummer Justin James White as their former band name Andrew Jackson Jihad, the Phoenix, Arizona natives kicked off their career with their debut album in 2005 “Candy Cigarettes & Capguns” and went on from there. Their style is on a spectrum of folk/bluegrass and punk rock which surprisingly goes together very, very well, Each song settling on different parts of the spectrum every time. Their lyrics are very interesting, bold, and almost outrageous. And yet so, so honest. AJJ’s  live shows are full of intensity and so much energy. Anytime you hear a recording of them live you’ll notice that the whole crowd is singing along to every word. It’s truly something magical. Something about AJJ is so much different than many other artists. Their storytelling within their lyrics, their powerful sound and energy, everything about them is so refreshing and different. Please show them your support because they sure do deserve it. Three songs to start off with are Backpack, Goodbye Oh Goodbye, and Kokopelli Face Tattoo. 

4. Skating Polly

Did you ever have a childhood dream of being a rockstar? Well, step-sisters Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse turned that into a reality. In 2009, when they were only 9 and 14 years old, the dynamic duo from Oklahoma City kickstarted their careers as their self proclaimed “Ugly-Pop”  band Skating Polly. They both taught themselves several instruments such as the basitar that Kelli’s dad made for her, drums, piano, ukulele, bass, and guitar. They both are vocalists and tend to both sing on certain songs. Their first show was in 2009 at a Halloween party. After that, the rest is history. Later in their career, 2017 to be exact, Kelli’s brother Kurtis Mayo joined the band as their official drummer. The band was complete and ready to take over the world. Their sound could be described as riot grrrl, grunge, and sometimes even indie. They have uniquely poetic lyrics, liveshows true to their studio sound, and vocals ranging from aggressive punk rock to more gentle. Some great songs to start off with are: Flyer, Play House, They’re Cheap (I’m Free), and Nothing More Than a Body. They deserve much more recognition, so give them a try, you won’t regret it.

5. La Scaltra

When you think of goth music what do you first think of? Do you think of the older, more well known bands such as The Sisters of Mercy, or Siouxsie  and the Banshees? Or maybe you’re not really educated on goth music and your mind immediately goes to something like heavy metal. Well there’s one band who falls under the goth genre umbrella and many probably haven’t heard of them. This band’s called La Scaltra. The band consists of Aeleth Kaven (main vocals and composing), Jay Sharpe (guitar and technics), Dae Widow (keyboard and vocals), and Saeda Moreau (bass guitar) who are based in Essen Germany. They say that one of their main goals in their music is to show others that there’s nothing to be feared in darkness, in fact, that there is beauty in darkness. Their sound is gloomy, dark, and almost fairytale-like. And their lyrics are the same way. This genuine, beautifully dark band deserves to be known by so many more people. Check them out if you so please. Some good starter songs are Chained Hysteria, Rhythm of Our Dead Hearts, and Gunshot Lullabies

Of course there are many, many more underrated artists that are worth checking out and definitely deserve more attention, but it’s probably quite difficult to write about all of them. Hopefully you enjoy these lovely artists and get even more people to check out their stuff. Have a great day, and remember to support your local bands!