If You Like [X] Then You'll Like [Y]
Today, I'm taking a shortcut with a simple new music recommendation formula. Featuring new band recs based on Radiohead, Pavement, New Order, Lauryn Hill and more.
I was absolutely certain that I would be posting a deep dive this week into one of my favorite microgenres (I’ll keep it secret for now). It was going to be amazing — embedded music as far as the eye could see, lots of tangents, a bit of history, a few new music recs to tie it all together. You would have loved it, trust me.
Then I had to catch up on work over the weekend, and that isn’t conducive to writing at all.1
Long story short, I.O.U. one microgenre deep dive.
But I’m here with a consolation prize: a kind of elementary-level New Bands for Old Heads recommendation list. The Basic B of new music recommendations for the out of touch music lover, if you will.
If you like [fill in the blank]
Early on, I promised an “if you like X, then you’ll like Y” post formula, and then quickly proceeded to ignore that, because I like discourse.
That’s not fair to you, though. Lists are FUN, and reading is for suckers and miscreants with too much time on their hands.
After a few years of doing this sort of thing (recommending new music, not reading obviously), I’ve collected a number of frequent requests. I’ve more or less picked from a grab bag of those, filtered them to who’s better known, and run with it from there.
I’m not doing any specific decade or genre today. If this goes well, I’ll fine tune for future editions, and you can help me pick the theme.
And now what we need, in the immortal words of Elvis Presley2, is a little less conversation and a little more action.
So let’s get right into it.
(Psst — paid subscribers, check out the playlist for this post right here!)
If you like Gang of Four, try:
Stuck: Somewhere between Gang of Four and Devo, this band really captures the right high anxiety energy without veering into egg punk territory.
Folly Group: A new discovery for me, a debut, and one of the first records I listened to in 2024, Folly Group’s Down There! is a dead ringer. Listen to “Strange Neighbor” right after “Not Great Men” if you can’t hear the similarity right away.
Egyptian Blue: I worry sometimes that my addiction to (post-)post-punk is so overwhelming that I give even mediocre bands a pass, because my love of screeching, angular guitars overrides any sense of objective judgment. Then I set that feeling aside so you can listen to absolute bangers like this.
If you like New Order, try:
Operators: This Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs) side project is a dystopian concept album of sorts. I still come back to their incredibly underrated 2019 release Radiant Dawn often when I need a hit of darker new wave.
Nation of Language: There’s a lot of influences to choose from in this band’s self-styled “working class synth-pop.” Apart from New Order, you might hear Human League, Modern English (this track in particular reminds me of “Melt With You”), and even Kraftwerk.
Working Men’s Club: A bit darker than the last two on this list, Working Men’s Club leans deeper into darkwave with more influence from, say, Depeche Mode.3
If you like Veruca Salt, try:
Cherry Glazerr: The way I described their most recent album was that it’s the music you want to hear when you’ve just been through a breakup but can’t decide if you want to be sad or slutty about it. It’s grunge but it’s also pop, so purists beware.
Bully: Actually, I’m cheating here, because I’m essentially recommending Bully and Soccer Mommy in one handy track. This one nails the Veruca guitars4, but it’s a complete ‘90s time capsule. Let’s just say there’s a reason I’ve called her “Letters to Veruca Phair.”
Blondshell: I realize I’m kind of shoehorning in all of these women as nearly interchangeable recommendations for lovers of pretty much any ‘90s alt-femme rock, because they’re inspired by the whole gamut. Blondshell was practically raised by them, and this song is the testament to that.
If you like Smashing Pumpkins, try:
Softcult: I’m still anxiously waiting for a full-length release from these twin sisters making their own spin on grunge/shoegaze. I could probably have left this in the Veruca Salt section, but I’ll let it sit here at the border between the two.
Cloakroom: Are you sick of me recommending this band yet? Too bad. I’m a broken record. “Doomgaze” is this band’s schtick.
If you like Pavement, try:
Kiwi Jr.: When I first started listening to this band’s 2020 debut Football Money, I actually had to do a double take to make sure I wasn’t listening to Malkmus himself. You’ll hear a lot more depth by the time you’re through, though.
Cola: Not the newest of bands, technically speaking, because these are former members of Ought reformed, but it’s very on-the-nose ‘90s college radio revival. They have a brand new record out this year, too, for all of your Dinosaur Jr./Guided by Voices nostalgia needs.
If you like Radiohead, try:
Jockstrap: Their 2022 record I Love You Jennifer B is one of my favorites to throw in the face of the “Gen Zs can’t make good music” crowd. It’s jarring in the same way that OK Computer felt jarring at first, but I don’t know anybody making music quite like this.
The Smile: I guess it’s kind of condescending to recommend a Thom Yorke/Jonny Greenwood project to Radiohead fans. But what if you don’t know about it yet? WHAT IF?!
ALASKALASKA: There’s a gentle, electronic weirdness to this group that should appeal, though it does lack the haunting melodrama that Radiohead unfailingly delivers.
If you like Lauryn Hill, try:
Jazmine Sullivan: Maybe more Mary J. Blige than Lauryn Hill, but the level of vulnerability in this record has earned it many comparisons to The Miseducation…, and for good reason.
Yazmin Lacey: Her stunning debut last year, Voice Notes, was a blend of soul, funk, reggae, and jazz that evokes Erykah Badu, too.
If you like Elliott Smith, try:
Adrianne Lenker: I should probably admit at some point that I’m really not a folk music person. I’ll keep it buried here at the bottom of this list for today, but also stress that even I can recognize that Lenker’s music sparkles in a similar way to Elliott Smith’s.
Andy Shauf: Shauf doesn’t tug at the heartstrings like Smith, but he does have a way with words. Last year’s Norm had a clever narrative arc and a softness that nods to Smith’s influence in his work.
That’s it… for now!
Anything new for you this time around, or all fully-vetted already? What did I get right and what did I miss?
I’m not the biggest fan of braindumps like this, but if you want more, please let me know. And either way, keep telling me your favorite older bands that you want new analogues for so I can dig up the music you want to listen to.
xo
Gabbie
P.S. Paid subscribers — the playlist of these picks is available here!
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I know, you’re all beside yourselves in shock that I don’t write about music for a living. Me, too.
Or for the pedants among you, the immortal words of Mac Davis and Billy Strange, made famous by Elvis Presley.
I just know somebody is going to try to fight me on whether Depeche Mode is darkwave. I am completely agnostic to this. I am describing a sound right now, not history.
No, I haven’t replayed the feedback riff at 1:26 roughly 400 times, what are you suggesting?
I had not heard of the operators but love wolf parade and handsome furs so looking forward to checking them out!
Never have I clicked on a post so quickly (the New Order catnip did it for me). Thanks!!