Mexico City based band Mint Field is one of these bands that make it shine. Guided by Estrella del Sol and Sebastian Neyra. Mint Field creates a unique blend of avant dream pop and shoegaze with some touches of trip hop that explores the nostalgia and melancholy of daily life with strong guitars and voices that are like sighs. Instrumentation and atmospheres are accompanied by delicate, harmonious and ethereal voices that are a fundamental part of the sound.
New York-based multi-instrumentalist and artist Avishag Cohen Rodrigues, guitarist of New York’s all-female punk collective cumgirl8 (4AD). Rodrigues’ music is intricate yet raw; aloof, detached, yet vulnerable. Drawing upon rock, low fi, dark electronic, noise, and experimental, Rodrigues tells sonic stories of raw electronic landscapes intercut with bold, cutting guitars and dark minimal vocals.
Mint Field
Mint Field was originally formed in Tijuana by frontwoman Estrella del Sol and ex-member Amor Amezcua in 2015. The band is now led by vocalist and guitarist Estrella del Sol with Sebastian Neyra on bass (since 2017) and Reona Sugimoto (since 2024) on drums. The band creates a unique blend of avant psych shoegaze that explores the nostalgia and melancholy of daily life with complex rhythms, loud, shimmering guitars, and softly sighing vocals.
Following the release of their debut album Pasar de las Luces in 2018, the band recorded the Mientras Esperas EP, releasing it in March 2019. In 2020, the band quickly released their second full-length, Sentimiento Mundial. Following the beautiful live set recorded in Centro Ceremonial Otomí, Levitation Sessions on 2021. The band released Aprender a Ser and its second part (extended version) in 2023 and 2024.
The band has toured extensively, playing over 100 shows including dates in North America, Mexico, and two headline tours in Europe. Festival appearances include Coachella, Desert Daze, Pitchfork Music Festival (Paris edition), Hipnosis Festival, SXSW, Live Out Festival, Sonic City Festival, Distortion Festival, Canadian Music Week. The band has opened for Wilco, Slowdive, The Marias, Franz Ferdinand, Courtney Barnett, among others.
With 4 studio albums, a live album and 2 EP’s, the band has been praised, highlighted or featured over the years at outlets like NPR, KEXP, Pitchfork, NTS, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan and more. Their 2020 album hit #26 on the NACC (The North American College and Community Radio Chart) Top 200 Charts in October. The band has been featured on Spotify curated playlists such as Dreampop, indiekid, Latin Indie Rising, Undercurrents, Shoegaze Classics and more.
Avishag Cohen Rodrigues
With a full-length ‘Islands’ and several EPs on the shelf, Rodrigues is known for bending the boundaries of genres while remaining unattached to any singular form. Her latest single ‘Some Are’ was released in December 2024 with a music video directed by Adeline Thery. Her live set blends electronic beats with her signature guitar sound and vocals. Taking the listener on a journey through different cities, seasons, and smokey rooms. Beyond her work with cumgirl8, Rodrigues has collaborated, performed, and recorded with ensembles including Laila, and Yonatan Gat (Stones Tapes/Joyful Noise), among others.
