While the 2020s have already given us several instant classics and all-timers, those that have flown under the radar have found comfortable spots in my rotation. The following five records are all fantastic femme-fronted indie rock gems that deserve more love.

maybe i will see you at the end of the world (2021) by Sydney Sprague

Sydney Sprague's 2021 debut maybe i will see you at the end of the world finds the singer-songwriter defeated, but determined. "Can I get what I want only once? / Would it ever be enough?" she asks on "steve", an absolute ripper of a track about getting played and left for an ex. Sprague's voice is strong and commanding – she refuses to mince her words. As a woman with an affinity for emo and its adjacent genres, it's always nice to hear lyrics that I can relate to as opposed to the millionth song where a white guy is whining about a breakup that he caused himself. Following a devastating cry of desperation in "what u want", the final two tracks of the record are reflective and meditative. Sprague takes the all-consuming disappointments surrounding her and becomes wiser as a result. She croons, "Life's so long, but I'm patient" at the end of "time is gone", a dreamy and subtly jittery ode to endings and promising ambiguity. The end of the world could be tomorrow or a million years out, but regardless, Sprague has found solace.

Air Guitar (2022) by Sobs

In a perfect world, Singaporean trio Sobs are the gold standard for power pop. Frontwoman Celine Autumn is a master of crafting rock solid melodies and hooks, some of which have stuck with me for the better half of a decade. Their sophomore record, Air Guitar, is 31 minutes of pure power pop bliss — a true all killer, no filler album. Autumn’s sugary sweet vocals dance atop some of the tightest, electrifying instrumentals you’ll hear from 2022. Her lyrics chronicling the frustrations of young love are straightforward, yet potent. The opener and title track exhibits this in spades, with Autumn opening the album singing "No remnants this bliss is temporary / Turn our love into some sick trilogy." She fights an internal battle of pessimism, self-awareness, and love lost that ultimately culminates in a happy ending: a shimmering cover of Gwen Stefani's sleeper hit "Cool".

The band is constantly in lock-step on this album, never missing an opportunity to add a fun rhythmic flourish or enriching the sonic texture by introducing a new instrumental layer. The choruses on Air Guitar are airtight, supported by a wall of bright guitars and synths. Sobs’ excellence catches you by surprise, but only because they make it look so easy.

A Place You Grew Up In (2023) by Laveda

Brooklyn indie rock quartet Laveda enhanced their dream pop and shoegaze sensibilities on their sophomore record, A Place You Grew Up In. The record finds frontwoman Ali Genevich stumbling through the fallout of a heartbreak, soundtracked by dreamy guitars and spacey synths. Genevich's songwriting is simultaneously succinct and emotive, paired with memorable hooks on tracks like "Surprise" and "Troy Creeps". The record bounces seamlessly between subgenres, whether it be the tranquil chamber pop of "Crawl" or the punk-inspired panache of the following track, "We're All Screwed". Playing in bars and basements around the East Coast, Laveda is one of the most exciting bands in the underground right now.

Wisecrack (2023) by Haley Blais

In the three years following her debut record, Below the Salt, Toronto's Haley Blais sharpened both her pen and her artistic vision. Scattered with self-deprecation and resignation to anxieties, Wisecrack demonstrates vulnerability in its subtleties. Blais bears her heart on this record of gorgeous indie pop in a way that's not sonically or lyrically overt – and, cleverly, that's by design. When Blais runs into a roadblock, she retreats. Whether that be on vacation by the lake ("Why is it so hard to get up on the board? / I'll sleep in the hot room 'till they call me for more") or in interpersonal relationships ("Just like a lamb I'll trust you in the still heat / Sucking the finger of the butcher who'll kill me").

Wisecrack's narrative throughline aligns perfectly with its selectively rich instrumentation, only introducing embellishments to accentuate their musical payoff. The horns on "Survivor's Guilt" or the cathartic, electric outro on "Winner" don't give you a second to consider their inclusions – they only feel like the final piece of the puzzle has snapped into place. After its 18 month rollout, Wisecrack emerged as a carefully crafted and poignant piece of art.

UTOPIA NOW! (2024) by Rosie Tucker

It's not often that people disclose that they're a trust-fund baby in their Spotify bio, but that's simply Rosie Tucker's M.O.. Tucker's lyrics are palpably political, with jabs at Amazon ("I hope no one had to piss in a bottle at work to get me the thing I ordered on the internet") and the ruling class at large ("The shareholders meet gruesome ends / But the cosmos expands / So the market survives"). The internal battle between the desire to continue to be a morally sound person and the doom of a discouraging political climate weaves its way through this record, with Tucker's penchant for bulletproof hooks and clever wordplay making it markedly theirs. The guitar work on UTOPIA NOW! is intricate and endlessly memorable, which pulls its own weight despite Tucker's lyricism being the main event. The mesmerizing pop rock that Tucker displays on this record leaves you both charmed by them both as a person (or, rammed into your psyche by the repeated line "I want nothing but unending bliss for my enemies") and excited for what they'll conjure up next.