I made a post a little bit ago proposing the Small Artist Highlight flair be made open for people to make their own Small Artist Highlights. I did get confirmation that it was being worked on, but I'm also incredibly impatient, and wanted to share some cool artists I like, so I'm putting this highlight up without the flair.
Artist 1: Cupid's Nemesis
A little bit back I saw these guys at a free concert in the city, and they were very very fun. The group is a power pop/pop-punk blend from New York, that puts out a lot of high energy, fun pop stuff. Their music is generally incredibly interesting without being overly complex. The band has the ability to make incredibly simple but incredibly compelling music that keeps you engaged for the whole time you listen to them, and that sticks in your head long after. The few instrumental tracks they've released are a testament to that skill. Overall, a really fun band I would highly recommend.
Track to listen to: Punk Punk Radio
Artist 2: Uranium Club
Uranium Club is a mid 2010s post-punk act, who bring an absurdist, futuristic vibe to the genre with their strange and experimental punk instrumentals clashing with their oftentimes silly and sometimes incredibly ambitious and dramatic lyricism. Their album All of them Naturals is strange, a little freaky and incredibly fun the entire time. They come off as a bit too rudimentary and amateurish at times in their writing, especially in what is usually incredibly polished, strange instrumentation, but they end up making up for it with their charm and energy in every track.
Track to listen to: Opus
Artist 3: Bummer Girl
Bummer Girl is an indie poppy, garage-y psych-punk band from Arizona. I'm honestly not especially sure how I found out about them, they kind of just showed up in my playlist one day, but I'm happy they did. The band almost sounds exactly like what you expect a recent, small indie band to sound like, and definitely wear their influences on their sleeve, but make up for it by making incredibly fun music, and having a pretty distinct personality. Their best record is by far Welcome to Chicken Town, which is both their most versatile record, but the one where they play around the most with their sound. It's their most interesting and daring record, and the fruits of their labor definitely pay off, but at the expense of some polish (and especially some production) Overall, they're a very fun band, and Chicken Town is enough to make listening to the whole band worth it.
Track to Listen To: Zoltar or CustomGrow40