The Material

First instinct might be to lump in the L.A. natives with other, more well-known female-fronted bands, who are less skilled and have less integrity with their songwriting, but the Material is the proverbial real deal. Able to effortlessly go from hard rocking to soft and delicate with her vocals, frontwoman Colleen D’Agostino sounds 100 percent authentic on both ends of the spectrum. Likewise, her band mates are masters of breathing life into their own instruments to reflect D’Agostino’s vocal emotionality. That said, guitarists Jon Moreaux and Roi Elam can still bring the shred like nobody’s business when the situation calls for it. - Brien Overly