This is a guest post by Devon Artrip

Anyone who knows me well knows my love of music. I may not be able to make my own, but I am constantly on the look out for new songs and artists to listen to. And I’m not picky; I love all genres of music from almost any time period. To me, it’s all about finding good music that speaks to you in some way, and at times this means you have to dig, search and discover musicians in places that you wouldn’t necessarily look or even think to look for them. Here is a top five of my newest favorite artists and a few of the different ways I discovered them:

1. Nico Vega. I listen to a lot of internet radio, which allows me to hear so many different and amazing artists that don’t get any play by the local stations. After hearing the song “Gravity” for the first time, I became an instant Nico Vega fan. Thanks to the lead singer’s beautiful yet edgy vocal style, Nico Vega has a sound that allows them to stand out among other hard rock groups emerging today. For those who love rock, Nico Vega delivers it with force.
2. Girl In A Coma. Another place that I love to find new music is on the Logo Channel’s NewNowNext Music, which is exactly where I discovered Girl In A Coma. The inspiration for their name comes from The Smith’s song “Girlfriend In A Coma” and you can hear the influence of Morrissey in GIAC’s music among the punk, rockabilly and even sometimes tejano influenced sounds. On their second full length LP, GIAC took their music a step further and recorded their first Spanish language song, covering the 1960’s Mexican pop song “Ven Cera” but making it distinctly their own.
3. M83. Fronted by Anthony Gonzalez, M83 cannot fit into one specific music genre. With five albums, M83 has been a rhythmic chameleon, moving from rock to a softer, ethereal electronic sound. The intention of the album, Saturdays=Youth was to sound like it came from the 80’s, and it hits right on the mark. The song “Kim & Jessie” is another that came my way through internet radio and when I first heard it, I thought that M83 was a fabulous band that I had missed out on in my childhood.
4. Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head. The one word that comes to mind when I think of this band is “fun”. I first heard Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head when their song “Hush Hush” was featured in a Pop Waffle YouTube video. Their infectious dance tunes get you off your feet and shaking your butt within the first few seconds that the songs start. Plus, how awesome and creative is the name? You have to love the band for that alone.
5. Jens Lekman. Leaning to the softer side of music is Jens Lekman. If you’ve seen the movie Whip It starring Ellen Page, then you’ve heard Jens Lekman before, but you just may not have known it (His song “Your Arms Around Me” is featured during the pool scene.). A native of Sweden, he’s also an indie pop darling there, gathering Swedish Grammy nominations and an album of the year award thus far in his career. The catchy beats and his sweet voice have a tendency to disguise some of the more serious tones in his lyrics, but this only makes his songs more complex and interesting in my opinion.

And there you have it, my top five newest favorite artists. But that only skims the top of my list and I’m always scouting out more musicians to add to it. Who do you love to listen to that more people should know about?

Devon Artrip is a blogger from Arizona and writes under the pen name Dru for the blog Dru And Ana that she and her sister started together where they share stories about their lives. Devon also features a weekly post about music groups and videos of songs. She is an avid music lover and a singer in a community choir group.

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