Marcus King
Warren Haynes....... still around
Dan Auerbach
Teskey Brothers
Matt Berninger
John Moreland
Amos Lee
Hanseroth brothers
Glen Hansard
Where are the front men? (Rant)
I've been in a slump for a while trying to find new music. I use Qobuz and it does an abysmal job of suggesting music for me. So I browse their playlists.
Today I ran through their "Ones to Watch in 2025", mostly in the pop, rock, indie, Americana, R&B and soul categories. Probably listened to 50 or 60 songs....or parts of them.
I noticed across all the genres mentioned above that there was the absolute lack of male singers with good or interesting voices. This was for two reasons. The first is that the male singers I heard weren't interesting. The second is that of those 50-60 songs I'd say at least 75% had female lead singers.
I have nothing against female singers but amongst the ones I listened to most of them sounded identical. Its this sort of breathless, emo sounding, slightly slurred, slightly little girl inflection often with a touch of L.A. or Detroit ghetto affectation. Song after song after song across all those genres. (Jazz seems to be spared from this blight).
I don't know who started this trend among female singers. Courtney Burnett (who I find entertaining at times) maybe? Hannah Reid of London Grammar (not as bad as most of these but still)? Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) further back? I don't mind a smattering of it but it seems like its all you can hear from female vocalists these days.
So where are the front men? Where are the guys with big voices, great range and dynamics? Charisma, swagger, stage presence? A thing of the past maybe?
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I feel your pain n80. From the moment I started listening to music I was always drawn to the nuances of the male singer. From Robert Plant & Ian Gillan, later obsessed with Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart & my favourites to this day, Lou Reed, Neil Young, Kurt Cobain, Mark E Smith. I’ve probably forgot a few.
But on the subject of Female vocals, I’m generally not a fan, but I think that’s mainly down to the soppy crap they’re singing. I hear all the time Diane Krall, just sounds like insufferable whining to me. But a band I love, who I think are criminally underrated is Massive Attack and they have introduced me to numerous stunning female vocals. It’s obvious to reel off the examples on the first 3 albums, but I would recommend the less acclaimed 100th Window and Heligoland. Sinéad O’Connor, Martina Topley-Bird, Hope Sonderval. Chilling vocals & great music. |
@slaw Thanks. I am familiar with Marcus King. He's okay for me. I have all of the Teskey Brothers albums. Love them. I have several Amos Lee albums. Also have a few Black Keys albums. I am mostly interested in their blues stuff which is excellent. I'll check out the other artists you listed.
@singintheblues Thanks. I am not opposed to female artists. Neko Case is one of my favorites. She has some great albums. Some duds too. I like Margo Timmins of Cowboy Junkies. I like Ella Fitzgerald for that matter. I liked Brittany Howard when she was with Alabama Shakes. Not so much now. I'm sure there are others but those are the ones that I can think of offhand. But like you, that's are short list compared to male vocalists. This weekend I have a cold and it is snowing and sleeting outside (rare for us) so hopefully I'll have some time in front of the speakers exploring the many suggestions made here. Thanks. |
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