As a frequent music listener and someone who is always striving to find new artists, I’m here to recommend to you some of the best and underrated artists who deserve more recognition. The majority of these recommendations I discovered on TikTok, a few I’ve been listening to for years, all of them are incredible. I’m talking less than 500k monthly listeners. I’m talking UNDERGROUND, rarely heard of, gate-keep-worthy artists who you might just listen to and find your new favorite artist.

Honey Revenge

If you loved early 2000s Paramore, you should listen to Honey Revenge. They bring the nostalgia of 2000s angst back into modern music. Each song is filled with classic electric guitar riffs and headbanging beats that never fail to make me dance. Some of my personal favorite songs of theirs being; “Rerun”, “Airhead”, and “Distracted”.

South Arcade

South Arcade goes along with the angsty vibes that Honey Revenge has but with a more electronic sound to it. They do well with dabbling in different sounds, too. Their song “Stone Cold Summer”, one of my favorites, has that classic, grungy sound to it that sticks in your brain. Sticking to the grunge vibes, they have songs like “Riptide” and “Nepo Baby” but these two songs specifically have more flowy instrumentals that build in layers which makes for a fun listen.

Emma Foley

Emma is a newer artist who has just a few songs out but they’re all phenomenal. If you’re a fan of lyricists who write emotion-evoking ballads, this one's for you. All of her songs are sweet poems that are incredibly endearing and easy to have on repeat.

Her two songs “Dancer” and “Eternal June” are very sweet love and heartbreak songs that give that girl-next-door vibe. And then her song “Spider” takes a turn for the sadder and while singing about finding a spider in her shoe, makes the most gut-wrenching and thought-provoking piece about the complex feelings of life and purpose I’ve ever heard.

In the most positive way, the sounds of the songs are quite simple. There are no layers and layers of instrumental and no chaotic layering of vocals, both of those elements can create amazing songs, but Emma’s simplistic approach is not only brave but refreshing. Sometimes less is really more and with certain art pieces you have to know where to stop, you have to know when to quit adding, and Emma does an incredible job at drawing that line with perfection.

Lana Lubany

Lana is a daring, young artist who blends English and Arabic into edgy dance songs. Each of them has so much life and personality. The way that she utilizes Arabic scales to create a hauntingly beautiful and enticing sound is jaw-dropping. She honors her culture while making it relatable to anyone around the globe and that, in itself, deserves a round of applause. My personal favorites of hers are “THE SNAKE” which exudes dark feminine energy and “ANOTHER YEAR” which has so many odes to her culture and screams self-confidence.

Marie Dresselhuis

If you’re a fan of Searows or Gracie Abrams, you’ll love Marie. Marie is another soft ballad expert and heart-wrenching guitar chords that paint the most nostalgic, beautiful, and sorrowful pictures. My personal recommendations are “Conversation With The House” and “I Miss July”.

If you’re like me and are someone who loves to listen to sad songs when you’re already sad to make yourself even sadder, I highly recommend Marie. Every song is perfect for laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling, and replaying every little moment in life. She somehow makes me long for memories I’ve already made and yearn for ones I’ve yet to make. There’s an element in her lyricism of minimalism and noticing the smaller things in life. Her voice and music sound like what Golden Hour looks and feels like.

Erin Lecount

Any Mitski listeners? How about Ethel Cain? You’ll love Erin. Erin has incredible mixing skills when it comes to structuring a song that takes you on a creative and poetic journey. She gained traction on Tik Tok for performing a cover/mashup of Frank Ocean’s “White Ferrari” and Phoebe Bridgers' “I Know The End”, both beautiful songs that she made even more beautiful with her rendition which she constructed to seamlessly flow into each other to become one, single song.

I can envision her songs being used in a coming-of-age film during a dramatic span of B-roll where we’re seeing the main character’s most beautiful life moments fast-forwarded in the most nostalgic and artistic way. My personal favorite, original songs of Erin’s are “Heaven”, “Killing Time”, and “Mind The Gap”.

Yana

Yana is my most recent find and another soft ballad artist with a little bit of folk and blues. My recommendations to start with are “The Wall” and “Don’t Want Your Love”. Yana’s vocals are captivating and the amount of control and technique you can hear in them is impressive.