Bands w/ Female Vocalists

[Taco-Calamitous]

I have been thinking about making a thread dedicated to this subject for some time. What are your favorite bands with female vocalists? Mostly I had in mind bands that use the female vocalist for half or more of their songs. I'd also appreciate a brief description or link to a video/myspace page of the band in question, if you so choose to respond.

-Zolof The Rock and Roll Destroyer. I have recently gotten into this band, after downloading their split EP with Reel Big Fish. They remind me of like a cross between Weezer and Lit (with a female vocalist, that is.) The singer has an edge to her voice like the singer of Lit, but there is probably more keyboard involved-a la Weezer-than Lit really has.

-The Epoxies. This was a power pop band with a strong emphasis on keyboards and insanity-fueled energy from Portland, OR. I really thought they were a lot of fun, and it's a shame that they were so short lived. Although now the singer has started another project, called "Roxy Epoxy and the Rebound." I don't like it as much as the Epoxies, however.

Daylight Basement. A bit less rocking than the other two, and a bit more emphasis on the pop. I only know of one album that they put out. The singer (her first name "Bre;" I did a search a while ago on them) has done other projects, too. I heard "Just Kiss Me" on my local college radio station a few years back, and have looked them up on e-music since.

The Angries. They are a local punk rock act, with a lot of screaming and growling. I just discovered them the other day; I was actually at the house where they were practicing, and they sounded really good.

Architecture in Helsinki. The girl sings a lot of the songs (actually, I think there used to be more than one girl.) But yeah; an indie act from Australia. I'm liking their newer stuff more, personally. Listen to "That Beep," "Do The Whirlwind," and "Beef In The Box" for examples of the girl's vocals.

Nightwish. Would kinda be hard to talk about female vocalists and not mention this act. Although I have a feeling most people know about this band (on this site, at least.) They play some highly dramatic metal, for those who don't know. They're pretty cool.

So yeah. Them're my favorites that I can think of. What're your favorites? Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[Josh_R]

My description of each band I name will be brief because all are well known bads that everybody should know...

ENTER THE SHALLOW LIFE | OFFICIAL LACUNA COIL HOME PAGE Lacuna Coil~ Sweet ass band that I only recently discovered, had no idea about them until I joined this forum and someone mentioned them..Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia are amazing when singing together...

OFFICIAL FLYLEAF SITE Flyleaf~ love em, best band with a female vocalist I have ever heard...

Paramore | The Official Site and Community - Paramore.net Paramore~ a american band that has multiple songs that top the charts all over. Odds are everyone knows who they are. Lead Singer Haley Williams has amazing vocals and is also a very good song writter...

This is all I can think of right now but I know later I will remember one that I love that is more underground and not so mainstream...

[Xanatos]

Nightwish - This is one of my favorite Gothic Metal bands if not the favorite. First time I've actually cared to listen their album is when my brother bought "Tales from the Elvenpath" (pretty late, I know), I just couldn't believe that anyone had such a voice as Sharon den Adel but Tarja was even better. Since then I have every one of their albums, videos and live performances. Shame though that Tarja left the band, Anette Olzon isn't bad but nothing compared to Tarja.

Within Temptation - I've been listening to this band before they've even become mega famous, I was just enchanted by the voice of Sharon den Adel the vocalist. I have every album they've released so far and I must say that through all this years they still haven't disappointed me.

Evanescence - Before releasing the first full-length album called Fallen they used to be a Christian Rock Band. After that it was quite obvious that they're going in a completely different direction which proved to be a major success. Ben Moody the co-founder of this band left Evanescence few months after the release of their first album and because of it Amy Lee (vocalist) took charge of this band and she did an excellent job if I may say so, although in my opinion Ben was a better songwriter. Fallen is the first album I bought and ever since I've fallen in love with this band, well, in all honesty solely because of Amy Lee, she's a hell of a singer.

[OceanEyes28]

Vienna Teng: Singer/songwriter/piano player. Her lyrics are clever and moving and original and she has a beautiful voice.


Brandi Carlile: I like her. Singer/songwriter/guitar player. She's sort of a folk/rock musician and her voice is really impressive.


A Fine Frenzy: (or Alison Sudol). Singer/songwriter/piano player. She is an alternative/pop/folk-y type musician. Some of her songs are more filler for me, and get passed over, but she also has some really good, beautiful songs.

[Maridia]

For ones I consistently listen to Dresden Dolls are the only band. It's only 2 people but they somehow make it work. Brian is one of the best drummers and resembles Keith Moon. And Amanda Palmer plays piano and sings. Her style mixed with personal demons and cabaret come to make them who they are.

[Confession]

Angela Gossow form Arch Enemy is one of the first woman to be in a death metal band.

She spawned from the depths of hell. and can give nearly any other male vocalist with the same "growling" style a run for their money.

She is Pure. ****ing. Metal.

Angela Gossow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
YouTube - Arch Enemy - Dead Eyes See No Future Live

[GypsyElder]

I love Sixpense none the Richer:


I love this song

A Fine Frenzy: (or Alison Sudol). Singer/songwriter/piano player. She is an alternative/pop/folk-y type musician. Some of her songs are more filler for me, and get passed over, but she also has some really good, beautiful songs.

A Fine Frenzy was the first thing I thought of, I don't really like bands with female vocalists, very few but I do like female artists like Feist, Yelle, KT Tunstall is alright too, YouTube - KT Tunstall - Other Side Of The World

I actually kind of like Regina Spektor. There was another female artist that I used to watch on vh1 that was kind of cool :

YouTube - INGRID MICHAELSON - "The Way I Am" - (official music video)

[Sinister]

Amanda Palmer-Dresden Dolls I've always been a faithful fan and admirer. She has a nice voice and a talent for writing.

Monica Richards-Faith and the Muse Possibly my favorite band of all time. The talent is in writing and the poetically harsh environment Monica's voice creates.

Shikhee-Android Lust Stunningly the frontwoman in an industrial band of...one. I'm not sure how I feel about her being used in NCIS. But in the same breath it's nice to see her get some exposure.

Summer Bowman-Machine in the Garden A good darkwave band that is slowly growing in popularity. Summer has the perfect voice for the band.

Caroline Blind-Sunshine Blind A now defunct band, but I own their discography and Caroline is a female heroine of a rockstar.


It's also only fair to mention Melora Creager-Rasputina and Morgan Lacroix-Mandragora Scream.

-Sin

[DragonHeart]

I'll third Nightwish, I love Tarja's voice. I don't think I've actually heard Anette but I don't really keep up on that sort of thing either. I haven't even heard all of Nightwish's songs with Tarja as the vocalist, heh.

I like Amy Lee's voice too, I've only heard one or two songs from Evanescence though.

I've heard of some of the others mentioned in this thread, just haven't listened to any of them.

~DragonHeart~

[Dodie16]

Wow. I really need to update my musical tastes...(like, seriously...). The main bands I can think of that have ladies on vocals are from the '80s and '90s. Yeah, I'm a huge fan of the music from that time. It's a guilty pleasure.

Heart and Blondie are the first that pop into my mind. Next, would be The Go-Gos. I love the Go-Gos. Yeah, some of thier stuff is a little "bubble-gum pop" but I like that stuff sometimes.

I was big on No Doubt when they first made the scene, but then I guess they sort of lost thier appeal to me in thier later stuff. I'm not a big fan of Gwen Stefani's solo career, but I'm glad she found success with it.

I'll have to check out those links in the above posts. I don't want to live in the past (musically) forever.

[ZantetsukeN]

My favourite one, and one I don't think has been mentioned so far, would be The Birthday Massacre

The song featured in the video is my most played song on my iTunes! I love it. To me, the band sound so different to most of what is out there today. Good stuff.

I also like Evanescence, Within Temptation and Paramore.

[Joe]

I'll also go ahead and state that I really like Nightwish. Dark Chest of Wonders is almost certainly my favorite Tarja song, but as far as Annette's songs, Cadence of Her Last Breath is amazing.

Epica is another pretty awesome band, though they don't use purely female vocals. I'd check out Quietus and Blank Infinity by them.

Lacuna Coil is alright, and I'm a huge fan of Evanescence's album "Fallen".

As far as non-heavyish music goes, Sixpence None the Richer is hereby seconded, as well as Regina Spektor and KT Tunstall. And I am aware that I just lost all my man cards by admitting that.

Silversun Pickups use a lady as a vocalist, so I'm gonna go ahead and toss them in here. They do have one song with purely female vocals which is pretty calming and nice, which is linked Here.

[Firefly]

Wow,am I the only one here,thats has one band in mind? LOL i guess so,anyway:
My fav band wit a female vocalist has to be Paramore.They're kind of a emo/rock band.Sry I dont have a link.Oh yeah n my fav song from them is "That's What You Get"

[Furore]

Going through my iTunes library, bands I like or at the very least semi-regularly listen to with female vocals include Belly, Drain S.T.H., Elastica, Evanescence, The Goops, Hole and Lisa Miskovsky.

I've been growing more fond of rock/metal with female vocals for a while now as I find they seem to have a higher range and can often give songs a lot more emotion.

[FamousMortimer]

*Le Tigre
*Cat Power
*Selby Tigers
*Nellie McKay
*Bikini Kill
Just to name a few of my favorites...

[Bleachfangirl]

Azure Ray: This was a band thing of two women who sang folksy stuff. I came across the name one day in a fanfiction and started stalking out the band and songs. I'm not sure which one of the two (Maria Taylor or Oreda Fink) ladies sings most of the time, but her voice reminds me of Feist's, but is more dreamy...kind of. I think they disbanded too. ;_;

Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer: Telegraph, I kind of love you. These guys are one of my favorite bands even though they don't really leave Philadelphia nowadays, and no one at school knows them. Someone told me they're planning on recording something new sometime soon, but I don't know when that'll happen. Rachel Minton's voice totally fits with the happy and up-beat songs, and when she gets really loud to the point where she's screaming more than singing, she sounds really cute. Her voice gets gravelly and hoarse for a second, then she comes back down and goes back to her usual peppy sound, and I love it.

Rilo Kiley: Jenny Lewis is the pimp. Really, I just like the band. But the singer's style is weird. Not a bad weird. A good weird. That's just all I can think to say.

HOLY CRAP. I forgot this one!

Carol King: Just how did I forget her? She's an amazing songwriter and I like the way she sings. Her voice was smoother when she was younger, but it sounds so nice either way. And is that an accent? I don't know. It just sounds really good with an old-ish feeling to it.

[Taco-Calamitous]

I love you too!! ... ... .... .....

Y'know, I guess that when I posted this, I was focusing more on recent or still active artists, but I have to say I am a fan of Blondie as well. Not so much when they came back in the late 90's/early 2000's, but when they were reggae/new wave (y'know, some people thought of them as being in the punk scene... kinda weird, eh?) Anyhoo, here's a few I've thought of:

Shonen Knife: My brother was more into them than I was (I actually don't own an album or comp that has a song by them on it) but there were a few songs of theirs that I really liked, and for a time, I wanted to get an album of theirs. "I Am a Cat" and their cover of "On Top of the World" come to mind.

Flight 180 was a christian ska band with a girl singer, and listening to stuff of theirs that I own again, I come to realize that I should have appreciated them more when they were around. Same goes for non-christian ska acts Save Ferris and... there was another one, but I can't friggen' remember their name! Oh well... Think it started with an "O."

For some kinda odd french stuff, check out CocoRosie. ...Oh yeah! And I almost forgot to mention Cub. Who don't have a myspace... if you know They Might Be Giants, they did a cover of the Cub song "New York City" once. Cub is... "Cush Rock," I think it's called? Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

EDIT: And the mention of Sixpence None The Richer reminded me of The Cranberries. Their song "Salvation" is awesome.

[Fate]

Evanescence: I just love Evanescence and their music. <3 Amy Lee has an amazing voice, and you can hear it really clearly in the slower songs like My Immortal or October. But epically dark songs are usually the case, and they're very good, too. Just to link a few: Going Under, Everybody's Fool, and Lithium

Paramore: Paramore has pretty good music, too. Personally, I like Decode most, but some other songs are also nice. And Hayley Williams has a great voice, in my opinion.

Flyleaf: I absolutely love Flyleaf's music. The lead singer, Lacey Mosley, has one of the best female vocals I've heard. Not to mention, they have some addicting songs. xD All Around Me is perhaps one of the most well-known, but my favorite is from the album Memento Mori, Again.

Within Temptation: I've always been a fan of the epic instrumental bands, and this is one of the best at that. Symphonic rock/metal. <3 Here's something of theirs: Stand My Ground.

[Block]

Portishead, La Roux, and Imogen Heap

[T.G. Oskar]

I find it hilariously odd that no one has mentioned Kittie...

Are they...a bad group? Although, they're less of a "band with a female vocalist" and more of an "exclusively all-female band".

Though, I must admit; the Lander sisters look a bit too masculine for me. Kudos on the hot bassists, tho (Tara and ex-member Talena, to be specific)

[GHOSTED]

I hope this counts but My band had a show Friday night and an all female band was going to open it. So I was talking to them before the show about things and they'd only been a band for about 4 months and none of them had any type of training before they joined the band, just some girls wanting to make a band. So they go on and we're actually really amazing. They completely changed my view on female bands and bands with female vocalist....

[Zargabaath]

I'm very picky when it comes to women singing in metal - power/symphonic metal to be exact. She has to be extremely good, to my ears, in order for me to like her. I tend not to like females in my metal, I don't really listen to rock extensively. But from what is on my ipod that I can recall at the moment, which I believe is all the female singers I like are:

Bridget Fogle in The Infinite Wonders of Creation - Luca Turilli

Heidi Parviainen the lead singer of Amberian Dawn


I like female artists far more in the electronic genre than metal. Their voices, to me, tend to match better with electronic than metal.

[Heartless Angel]

I listen to ALOT of Symphonic Metal with female vocalists. Most everything else I listen to is all instrumental. ANyways. some good bands with female vocalists.

Delain (Charlotte Wessels)

Epica (Simone Simons)

Lunatica (Andrea Dätwyler)

Visions of Atlantis (Melissa ferlaak)

Elis (Sabine Dunser)

If anyone likes any of these, I can go find plenty more for any of these bands.

[Ernest]

Paramore are one of the few bands I like with a female vocalist. They also happen to by my 3rd favourite band. Hayley William's voice is crazy.

I also like The Hush Sound, where the half the album is sung by a female, and the other half a male.

[Niloc13]

I found out about Zolof because Anthony Green (Circa Survive's vocalist) was in it, and I really like their music. The girl singer is pretty good too.

If you're into hardcore, Punch is an AMAZING female-fronted hardcore band. Made Out of Babies is another on of my favorites, think a heavier, more hectic Nirvana with female vocals. Battle of Mice is the same kind of thing but with more of a heavy metal influence. Metric and Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton are both incredible as well.

[Jonathanx221]

My description of each band I name will be brief because all are well known bads that everybody should know...

ENTER THE SHALLOW LIFE | OFFICIAL LACUNA COIL HOME PAGE Lacuna Coil~ Sweet ass band that I only recently discovered, had no idea about them until I joined this forum and someone mentioned them..Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia are amazing when singing together...

OFFICIAL FLYLEAF SITE Flyleaf~ love em, best band with a female vocalist I have ever heard...

Paramore | The Official Site and Community - Paramore.net Paramore~ a american band that has multiple songs that top the charts all over. Odds are everyone knows who they are. Lead Singer Haley Williams has amazing vocals and is also a very good song writter...

This is all I can think of right now but I know later I will remember one that I love that is more underground and not so mainstream...

Paramore is amazing, I'm seeing them may 3rd. Also look up Versa Emerge. They're good as well.

[Rhaps]

I like Flyleaf and Kitty
Kitty is frickin' insane but pretty much everyone I've asked has never heard of them, what about you peoples?

[TigermusiQ]

I love music, I really love finding out new stuff so I'm gonna have to check out some in the thread. Anyway here's a few I'm pretty fond of.

eXIT cLoV- Emily and Susan Hsu (Indie pop)
Evanescence- Amy Lee (Metal)
Tsunami Bomb- Emily Whitehurst/ Agent M (Punk Rock)
HALCALI- Halca & Yucari (J-pop)
The Cranberries- Delores O' Riorden (Indie)
No Doubt- Gwen Stefani (Before she became solo)
Yeah yeah yeahs- Karen O (Indie?)

Well it's most I can think of, hope those who look enjoy.

[Jonathanx221]

I like Flyleaf and Kitty
Kitty is frickin' insane but pretty much everyone I've asked has never heard of them, what about you peoples?

I've heard of kitty, it's an all girl hardcore band isn't it?

[Rhaps]

Yes they are lol, they're one of my favourite bands.
I think they set way better examples of female rock power than most largely famous icons (insert a few here!)