Female Genius

Experimental outfit Female Genius create hypnotic, vocal-driven music inspired by the spirit of late-’70s No Wave. Combining minimal bass loops with guitar, keyboards, percussion and free-form saxophone, their sound draws on the unconventional and confrontational qualities of outsider art. Featuring musicians with roots in underground groups including 3 Teens Kill 4, Live Skull and Missing Foundation, the band explore personal politics through their deliberately unconventional arrangements.

Taken from their album Jagged and Fractured, ‘Like a Stone’ confronts the disappearance of Indigenous women, women of colour, sex workers and women living in poverty across the United States. Vocalist Julie Hair draws attention to the thousands who go missing each year, many of whom receive little attention or investigation. Through the band’s stark, experimental approach, the track gives space to a subject too often overlooked.

Taylah Rose

Sydney singer-songwriter Taylah Rose writes about growing up, navigating relationships and learning not to settle for less than you deserve. Her latest single, ‘Boyfriend Material’, began as a conversation about her dating experiences before developing into a playful rejection of bare-minimum treatment.

Written alongside R&B artist and producer EMEREE, the track emerged from a discussion about queer and straight dating. Despite their different experiences, the pair realised they were ultimately searching for the same thing: somebody who genuinely makes the effort. Combining a driving bassline, R&B-inspired production and sharp pop lyricism, ‘Boyfriend Material’ celebrates raising your standards, regardless of who you’re dating.

Cristina Peña

Spanish singer-songwriter Cristina Peña is based in London, creating music she describes as “vulnerable and honest but also complex and somewhat idiotic.” Drawing inspiration from artists including Samia, Phoebe Bridgers and Annie DiRusso, her songwriting combines emotional openness with a playful, unconventional approach.

The first single from her forthcoming EP, ‘Alien Song’ explores the experience of watching a friend fall in love with somebody already in a relationship and desperately wanting to escape his own circumstances. The track itself had an unusual journey, beginning with a few verses before Cristina lost direction and left it unfinished for several years. When she eventually returned to it, the remaining words came pouring out. What began as a simple acoustic folk song developed into something considerably stranger, with unusual sound effects, an otherworldly introduction and a nebulous bridge embracing the song’s alien theme.

Larkie

Seattle-based Asian-American alt-pop artist, songwriter and producer Larkie brings an unusually personal perspective to her music, drawing on her experiences as both a bereaved child and a grief therapist. Her songwriting frequently explores mental health, relationships and the complicated emotions surrounding loss.

On ‘Grief Comes In Waves’, Larkie reflects on losing her father and growing up without him, using the ocean as a metaphor for the changing nature of grief. The song moves between the devastation of realising he would never witness her milestones and the gradual process of learning to live alongside that absence. Set against danceable synth-pop production, it captures the contradiction of carrying profound sadness while still finding moments of hope and movement.

IONA SKY

Cambridgeshire-based Anglo-American band IONA SKY combine pop and country storytelling with indie-rock influences, creating guitar-driven pop-rock built around atmospheric textures and emotive melodies. Formed in 2023, the five-piece bring together different musical backgrounds through their shared songwriting.

‘People Come and Go’ explores the bittersweet reality that relationships, experiences and circumstances are constantly changing. Balancing introspective verses with a driving, singalong chorus, the track reflects on how people enter and leave our lives and how even the most significant moments eventually become memories. Rather than resisting that inevitability, the song acknowledges both the sadness and beauty of life’s temporary connections.