Molly Nilsson trades in a style ready-made for ironic detachment but carries it out with self-serious passion. Exposed to a larger audience via a 2011 duet with John Maus, Nilsson pairs her velvety croon with a bare-bones combination of quietly plodding drum machines and bluntly muted synthesizers. Her vocals are incredibly expressive, especially considering the low-key quiet she constantly maintains. Often sounding like My Bloody Valentine's Bilinda Butcher singing with uncharacteristic calm, she blends failed romance with female empowerment, oozing quiet confidence that's nearly impossible to resist. With Foxes in Fiction. —Jordan Lawrence