March 8th is International Women’s Day – or rather, Feminist Struggle Day. Even in 2023, FLINTA+ people* are still far away from equal rights – gender pay gap, sexual harassment and female poverty in old age are just some of the numerous factors that reproduce patriarchal structures and thus make gender justice impossible.
The situation is similar in the music world: Male acts and bands still dominate the charts, festival lineups and award categories of the Grammys or other important music awards. Here, too, a lot has to happen so that at some point there can be equality between female and male artists. For this reason, on the occasion of Feminist Struggle Day, we would like to introduce you to ten fantastic all-female bands that are fortunately currently shaking up the male-dominated music scene.
Here are 10 all-female bands you should definitely know about:
1. Hinds
Spanish indie rock band Hinds know exactly how to counter sexist comments: with enough sarcasm and a middle finger attitude. In the song “Just Like Kids (Miau)” the four band members Carlotta Cosials, Ana García Perrote, Amber Grimbergen and Ade Martin give a fictional chauvinist this farewell greeting: “Dude, it’s been a pleasant chat/Yeah, but I ‘m off to do my job/ Because we have the craziest crowd/ Waiting for these kittens to meow”. Hinds are celebrated across Europe for their humorous (and loud) approach to sexism and misogyny – the quartet have released three albums to date and have already embarked on a world tour.
2. Dream Wife
Dream Wife are also good at confrontation: the trio from London mixes their punk rock and garage rock with feminism and a healthy dose of anger. An explosive, but above all intoxicating mixture. In the song “Somebody” the band adopts classic arguments that women are confronted with after sexual assault: Just look at what she’s wearing, she must have wanted it that way. Singer Rakel Mjöll sings: “You were a cute girl standing backstage / It was bound to happen / You had a smile on your face / It was bound to happen” and repeats the sentence like a mantra in the chorus: “I am not my body ‘I am someone’.
3. The Linda Lindas
It sounds like the plot from a movie: Four young girls, just 8 to 14 years old, spontaneously appear together in a music competition, form a band, quickly become local stars, play as the opening act for Bikini Kill, are supported there by Amy Poehler discovered, then wrote songs for Netflix productions, had a viral hit and were celebrated for it by the likes of Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth. The band history of The Linda Lindas is already legendary, but the quartet is only just beginning: Their debut album GROWING UP was released in April 2022. Fun fact: The youngest of the Linda Lindas is just twelve (!) years old.
4. HAIM
The three sisters from HAIM are no longer considered an insider tip, at least since their collaboration (and friendship) with Taylor Swift. Danielle, Alana and Este Haim have been performing together since they were children, and their first EP FOREVER was released in 2012. A contract with Polydor Records follows, appearances as the opening act for Mumford & Sons and Florence + The Machine. In 2015 they received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Her third studio album is titled WOMEN IN MUSIC PT. III – a little nod to all the clichéd interview questions like “How does it feel to be a woman in the music business?”
5. boygenius
How could we ever get along without boygenius? The supergroup, consisting of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, was formed “by accident”, as Bridgers revealed in an interview. The three successful solo artists first became friends and shared their frustration at being constantly pitted against each other as competitors in the “Women in Rock” category. Instead of competition, there were joint studio sessions, performances – and ultimately the formation of the band. Her debut album THE RECORD will be released on March 31st. Incidentally, the name “boygenius” comes from their shared dislike of the “archetype of the tormented genius, [ein] specifically male artist who has been told from birth that his every thought is not only valuable but brilliant.”
6. Let’s Eat Grandma
The difference a missing comma makes can be seen with band names like Let’s Eat Grandma. The two musicians Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth have known each other since childhood and have been making music together since they were 13 years old. Both hail from Norwich – Britain’s greenest city – and quickly became local big names. In 2016 her debut album I, GEMINI was released, the critics celebrated it, but it was not bought. The commercial breakthrough comes with their second record, for which the duo received significant support from dance-pop DJ SOPHIE. On the third album, however, the two strike a serious tone: On TWO RIBBONS, Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth reflect on the ruins of their friendship and try to find each other again.
7. The Aces
The members of the American indie rock band The Aces have also been connected since childhood: the two sisters Alisa and Cristal Ramirez started making music together at the age of eight, later their two best friends Katie Henderson and McKenna Petty joined the group added. The four teenagers initially performed in bars and clubs under the name Blue Aces. In 2016, after a record deal with Red Bull Records, the band name changed to The Aces. The group’s biggest concern is not to be categorized as a “women’s band,” Christal Ramirez once said in an interview with Capitol Sound DC. She said, “We’re just a band! I don’t understand why people have to see gender all the time and make a thing out of it.”
8. Nasty Cherry
What do you get when you offer hyperpop icon Charli XCX a Netflix deal and task him with creating a cool girl group that she wished she’d heard when she was 14? That’s right: Nasty Cherry. The four band members are actually more about coolness than technique: while guitarist Chloe Chaidez already has band experience and drummer Debbie Knox-Helson has already worked as a studio musician for Charli XCX, Geogria Somary and Gabriette have Bechtel has never played an instrument, let alone led a band. Nevertheless, Nasty Cherry have a lot of potential: After the semi-mature debut album SEASON 1 (2019), two EPs followed, which skilfully combine New Wave with synth-pop.
9. Ghost car
The London punk quartet Ghost Car sounds like the soundtrack of an 80s coming-of-age film: Loud, colourful, furious and yet playful. In the music video for the single “Selfish, Spoiled”, the four band members Maeve, Laura, Clara and Maria in corsets and colorful baroque dresses stand in front of a round table on which a feast is laid out. But instead of royal manners, there is a feeding frenzy until not only the food but also the make-up of the four women is smeared. The song isn’t the only one where ghostcars try to vent their anger: anger at patriarchy, authority, homophobia, racism and toxic relationships. Their debut album TRULY TRASH was released on October 28th, 2022.
10th wet leg
Hardly any other band has had such a career boost since 2021 as Wet Leg: The duo, consisting of two long-time friends Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, released their first single “Chaise Longue” in mid-2021, which immediately turned out to be a hit and was clicked millions of times became. When the two released their debut album WET LEG just under a year later, the record went straight to number one in the UK charts. Just six months later, the two won two Grammys in the categories “Best Alternative Music Album” and “Best Alternative Performance”, as well as two Brit Awards in the categories “British Group” and “Best New Artist”. Where is all this supposed to lead?
*(ie all persons read as female who are discriminated against in the patriarchy – thus not only heterosexual cis women, but also homo- or bisexual, intersexual and non-binary women, as well as trans and agender persons, note d. editor)