Women of Rock: NETHERLANDS Bassist Chealsea Wierbonski is Digging These Five Female Musical Acts

Chealsea “Thee Chuq” Wierbonski joins us for the newest entry in our Women of Rock series to give us five female acts she’s seriously digging as of late. Hailing from the rollicking, heavy-rock purveyors Netherlands – whose newest record, Black Gaia, drops on August 24th – she definitely knows a thing or two about adroit musicality and pummelling your ears with crushing walls of sonic, so you best pay attention!

The album Black Gaia drops independently on August 24th.

01. Eartheater (Queens, NYC)
Genres: Dance, Electronic
Links: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

– Eartheater is amazing NYC multi-instrumentalist and singer Alexandra Drewchin’s futuristic, pluralistic, venereal “dance” music – she’s a bona fide master of texture and layered, schizophrenic atmosphere…kind of like listening to three different bands at once, but that actually doesn’t sound dissonant, even at all. Skittering, gorgeous and gently mentally ill, her music is entirely its own thing.

Give Eartheater’s video a peek if you’re so “Inclined”.

02. Couch Slut (Brooklyn, NYC)
Genres: Noise Punk, Alternative, Rock
Links: Facebook, Bandcamp

– One of the meanest bands, ever. Reminiscent of the harshest/gnarliest AmRep noise punk bands, this band is a lurching, swelling, moody, punishing menace. Lead singer Megan Osztrosits is SUPER fucking intense, with what feels like ultra-verite/brutal-feminist-truth exploding her entire performance. Their show is like getting punched in the face by music over and over again, but in a good way.

Go ahead and spice your love life up a bit. Get yourself a “Lust Chamber”.

03. Miho Hatori’s New Optimism (NYC)
Genres: Avante-garde, Downbeat
Links: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

– Miho was the singer of NYC avant-hip hop legends Cibo Matto, and she’s still making incredible, dense, harmonically interesting and fun, weirdo beat oriented/dance music. There’s a noir-ish cinematic quality to her new stuff, and it all comes across like funky outsider art. So good! (*plus Timo from NETHrock plays bass with her, so there’s that too.)

Pale and looking for reasons to be optimistic? “Invisible Tan” could be your salvation.

04. Insect Ark (Brooklyn, NYC/Portland, OR)
Genres: Psychedelic Doom, Alternative
Links: Facebook, Bandcamp, Instagram

– Insect Ark is NYC bassist/ lap steel/ synther/programmer Dana Schechter and PDX drummer/synther Ashley Spungin’s psych/doom/desert-gaze duo… like being immersed in a languid, gorgeous half-horror/dreamscape. Masters of the slow burn, and soulful as hell.

Psych? Check. Doom? Check. Gorgeous half-horror dreamscape? Double check. It’s “Skin Walker”.

05. Period BOMB (Miami, FL)
Genres: Punk, Lo-Fi
Links: Facebook, Bandcamp, Twitter

– Period BOMB is an incredible Miami-based feminist noise/punk/post-no-wave band; gloriously messy, with fantastic songs and shit-loads of swagger. Lead singer and guitarist Lou Miami is an amazing singer, and a KILLER noise guitarist…overall super fun and razor sharp. Period BOMB rules!

Here’s “Gnarly Princess”, chock full of sardonic aphorisms, glitter and a tortoise.

Racking realms of music too often dismissed as esoteric, Weibonski lets us in on some phenomenal female acts dangerously close to being kept secret. For shining the light where so many don’t, we thank her and vow to continue searching for the best and brightest women that keep propelling rock into the future.

Simple portmanteau, or horrifying sexual act? Try not to think about it, just watch Netherlands’ video for “Elephuck“ off of 2016’s Audubon.