Rookie

I’m an American lass, but I love bands from all over the place, and you should too! Here are some of my favorites who are making music today. And because I obviously can’t include every single country on the whole entire planet, please share some of your favorites in the comment section! I mean only if you want to!

Las Kellies – Argentina

I know I really love a song when I listen to it constantly and I have literally no idea what the band is singing about. Las Kellies TOTALLY kill on their track “Perro Rompebolas.” These chicks have perfected garage-rockabilly (I think that’s a genre that I just made up but you know exactly what I mean, right?) and I am very, very into it.

Those Dancing Days – Sweden

First of all: this is the cutest BFF girl-group video ever. Those Dancing Days is a Swedish electropop band that formed in 2005 when all five girls were still in high school. I just love when people start their bands in high school, I LOVE IT! The band is currently on hiatus, but I hope they make more music soon!

Do any of you know of any Swedish all-girl bands that sing exclusively in Swedish? I actually prefer international bands that sing in their native language!

Aias – Spain

Aias is a new group from Spain whose sound falls somewhere between twee rock and angelic choirgirls. They’ve been on MTV in Spain on the cover of Time Out Barcelona. These girls are going to be so big! I hope they make it in the States. Probably not, because I feel like a lot of boring white Americans do not like music that isn’t in English. Down with the U.S.! Just kidding. (Not.) (Haha.) (Not a joke.) (Yes it is.)

Plastiscines – France

Plastiscines are one of those bands that you kind of WANT to hate because every member looks like a model and has perfect bangs. You can’t help loving them, though, because they’re so good. They got super popular in the States circa whenever I was in eighth grade (OK, 2007) and they’ve been making adorable punky songs ever since. They sing mostly in English now but if you want to start listening to their music, go for the French stuff, specifically their major-label debut album, LP1.

Girls’ Generation – South Korea

K-pop is SO CRAZY but it hasn’t quite exploded in the U.S.…yet. I went to a Sweet 16 party hosted by a Korean friend of mine and every. single. song. was sugary K-pop goodness. I had no choice, I was hooked. Although any Korean gal knows there are, what seems like, bajillions of amazing K-pop groups, my favorite is Girls’ Generation. With nine members (!!!) this band is the definition of adorable. I wish I were in Girls’ Generation! I mean, just look at how perfect they are at pretending to be mannequins.

Ruido Rosa – Mexico

Woah, that is a whole lot of head-banging! Unfortunately, I don’t know that much about Ruido Rosa except for the fact that I LOVE this song and that they’re an all-girl group from Mexico. Their self-titled EP was released November 2010 and I’m just waiting for more of their music! Watch every single video they’ve got on YouTube, because they are literally the best thing ever.

Shonen Knife – Japan

Although they’re a much older band, I just have to include them! Basically, Shonen Knife is the greatest Japanese girl band of all time. They started in the ’80s, when Japanese girl bands were rarities, and they’re still making music today. Wowza! Their songs are pop-punk at its finest, covering topics including boys, candy, and cats. Did I mention the matching outfits? Oh, yes, they wear matching ’60s mod outfits. I should also note that Kurt Cobain was one of their biggest fans! He once said to Rolling Stone, “When I finally got to see them live, I was transformed into a hysterical nine-year-old girl at a Beatles concert.”

PENS – Britain

PENS is an olde English bande made up of some awesome ladies! Pitchfork bashed their debut album, Hey Friend, What You Doing?, because the writer was sick of lo-fi all girl bands or something, but let me tell you Rookie readers: I don’t care. I love all-girl indie bands whose tracks sound like they’ve been recorded during a basement show. Please, girls, keep creating these bands. PENS is perfect and I hope they don’t listen to dumb Pitchfork and keep making more music!

Dum Dum Girls – USA

Woah I’m sensing some serious Elvira vibes in this video, no? They’re witchy AND psychedelic AND just a little bit of a throwback to ’60s gal groups. There there are so many amazing girl groups in the US (Bleached, Vivian Girls, etc.), but Dum Dum Girls are currently my favorite. They started out in 2008 as a lo-fi indie group, but they’ve recently refined their sound a lot on their latest album, Only in Dreams, trading their hazy garage-rock sound for a cleaner and more modern style.

Pony Up – Canada

One New Year’s Eve, four Canadian gals formed Pony Up, a cute indie band. They might seem like pretty little girls made out of candy, but their music has haunting undertones. “The Truth About Cats and Dogs (Is That They Die)” is just one example. SADFACE! ♦