Female-Fronted Alt-Rock Albums You Need to Own on Vinyl

Best Ways To Disappear, by Candy Hearts
Candy Hearts are one of the best bands in the current pop-punk revival, with influences ranging from Jawbreaker to the Breeders to Lemuria to Liz Phair, and even Taylor Swift. This six-track EP, released in 2012 and produced by New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert, is an impressive offering of 1990s-tinged alt-punk, and singer/guitarist Mariel Loveland’s Disney princess voice is perfect for their wistful lyrics about romantic and friendly relationships. “Bad Idea” is the most typically-punk sounding song here, and the strong melodies in the chorus set the stage for the rest of the album. “Miles & Interstates” wouldn’t have sounded out of place in an episode of My So-Called Life, and “Ticklish” will make even the toughest tough guy uncross his arms and dance.

Innocents, by Weyes Blood 
Weyes Blood has been described as “folk ballads filtered through HP Lovecraft,” which is right on the money; her witchy, ethereal voice and unflinching lyrics are a welcome change of pace from current folk rock trends. This album, her second studio effort, is equally inspired by her noise-rock contemporaries (including Nautical Almanac) and the likes of Donovan and Joan Baez. While everything Weyes Blood does is skillful, her voice is her most versatile instrument. Her performance in “Hang On” is downright liturgic, and her subtle vibrato in “Bad Magic” recalls Marianne Faithfull at her most nervous. “Some Winters” sees her vocals and piano interrupted (and enhanced) with tape manipulation effects, an abstraction that’s all too rare in pop music.

Kiss Kiss Kill Kill, by HorrorPops
HorrorPops are a punked-up rockabilly band with a colorful, uncompromising pop aesthetic and a knack for writing infectious hooks. Led by Patricia Day on vocals and upright bass, with psychobilly legend and Nekromantix founder Kim Nekroman on guitar, Kiss Kiss Kill Kill is fun from start to finish. Day’s voice is both playful and menacing, like Betty Boop with a straight razor tucked into her garter, and her bass-slapping gives each song a natural bounce. This album has a few clever little Easter eggs in it, like the Madness parody in “Missfit” (“my fist/in the middle of your face”), and “Boot2Boot,” inspired by rioting in Copenhagen after police shut down a popular squat and youth center in 2007, breaks rank from the album’s prevailing B-movie lyrical theme in the best possible way.

Stop the Future, by the Epoxies 
Looking at the Epoxies, with their weird vinyl outfits and goofy sunglasses, you would think they’re yet another derivative, 1980s-influenced synthpop band. Of course, you’d be wrong about that. If anything, the Epoxies were an exaggeration of 1980s tackiness, pairing addictive keytar hooks and punk rock guitars with Roxy Epoxy’s sly, tongue-in-cheek vocals and lyrics about robots and human cloning. What makes this album so good is that the Epoxies were a talented band who could back up their image with fun songs developed from simple ideas. “Radiation” and “Synthesized” are first ballot, Hall of Fame-level ear worms, and their cover of Scorpions’ “Robot Man” is a glorious improvement on the original track.