March is Women’s History Month, and in celebration, the Index staff is sharing some of their favorite songs by women in the music industry…
“Hate Myself” – Dodie
Dodie’s upcoming album, Build a Problem, features many songs, including “Hate Myself,” dealing with trauma and personal relationships. Dodie has been a personal favorite of mine all the way back to her 2016 EP Intertwined and her music has been evolving over the years to become more polished and more complex. “Hate Myself” features beautiful harmonies, a backup choir, and fun, head-bopping instrumentals while talking about self-panic over someone internalizing their problems and wondering whether the problem is you. Dodie’s openness about past trauma and how it affects her in her music has gotten me through many of my own dark times and helped me understand myself better. — Grace Alexandria
“Witches Burn” – The Pretty Reckless
Witches seem to be having their cultural moment. While Scarlet Witch has been brewing her chaos magic on WandaVision with Agatha Harkness getting her wickedly gothic origin story in the same beat, New York rock band The Pretty Reckless are showing off their own rock-and-roll magic on their new album, Death By Rock And Roll. Sure, maybe their witchiness isn’t quite the same stuff Elizabeth Olsen and Kathryn Hahn have been brewing, but lead singer Taylor Momsen’s smoky, growling vocals cast just as powerful of a spell on “Witches Burn,” an unapologetic, violent kick-in-the-teeth to the patriarchy and misogynistic culture. — Bren Swogger
“The Kill” – Jessie Ware
Disco’s not dead. Jessie Ware’s “What’s Your Pleasure?” proves it by being an album with no bad songs. “The Kill” is currently my favorite track on the album, though that changes weekly. It’s a sleek, sexy trance of a song, practically designed for a night-tinged joyride through city streets. The song’s refrain, introduced after its second chorus, builds upon the relatively minimalist instrumentation of the song before it until it’s almost a second song in itself. Then it goes a step further and unveils one of the best fade-outs in disco. — Quint Iverson
“Brightest Sunrise” – Patricia Taxxon
Remember nightcore, the genre of unironic sped-up pop hits leading sugar-high electronic beats? Patricia Taxxon does. On “Beauty”, Taxxon blends the genre with her take on plunderphonics and ambient music, stacking huge chords and high-pitched vocals on top of themselves like a Jenga tower. When the high-intensity beat kicks in, making the tower miraculously float upwards, it makes me wonder why we ever forgot about nightcore’s signature sound in the first place. — Quint Iverson
“Good Days” – SZA
I’ve been listening to this bop from the day it dropped on Spotify in December. Since then, it’s gained a lot of traction among SZA fans and TikTok stans alike for its masterful combination of SZA’s heavenly vocals, beautifully-mixed background harmonies, and undeniably catchy melody. And who could blame anyone for being addicted to such a classically killer SZA single? Along with the undeniably flawless craftsmanship of the track, the message of the lyrics adds even more joy. “Good Days” is all about believing that better days are ahead in such a dark time for everyone’s mental health, which cheers me up every time I hear it. — Isabelle Williams
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