9 Best Guitar Moments of '90s Female Alt Rock Bands
Published on 04 March 2025
Girls to the front - check.
Guitars and attitude - check.
Heavy playing - check.
Controversial lyrics - check.
Welcome to the 90s where girls ruled and absolutely owned the music scene on all fronts. Something has happened since, whether the MTV era of pushing pop stars as role models for girls made us all feel we should just look pretty and sing nice songs, or whatever the case was, it’s time to take our power (and guitars in hands) back. It’s International Women’s Day after all.
photo by Blue Kid Media
Let’s not sit and complain that festivals are not headlined by guitar-slaying girls but instead let’s get inspired to pick up guitars and once again storm the world stages without asking for permission. We've got all it takes, with our feminine, raw energy, let our voices be heard.
I want to inspire you today by showing you 9 best guitar moments of '90s female alternative rock and grunge bands that I was lucky to grow up with.
Play. It. Loud. Let’s go girls!
Contents
Babes in Toyland - Bruise Violet
Sonic Youth - Bull in the Heather
Hole - Celebrity Skin
Love her or hate her, one thing’s for sure: Courtney Love is a force of nature and the ultimate female rockstar. Courtney has always stood up for women in the music industry; she behaved like men do, whilst retaining her feminine glam, voiced her opinions out loud when many wouldn’t have had the courage to and rocked out with guitar like a true goddess. Hole was that one band for me that changed my life as a teenager. Every riff, chorus and video embodied the powerful energy that I was mesmerised by and ultimately led me to picking up the electric guitar at the age of thirteen.
It’s hard to pick just one song that defines the best grunge riff by Courtney. The 1994 Live Through This album is absolutely essential but if I was to introduce you to this band for the first time, I’d go with Celebrity Skin. Released in 1998, it has all the magical ingredients to get you hooked from the start: a striking intro, catchy riff and Courntey looking like an absolute babe while rocking hard on her pink Squier Venus (often mistaken as a Strat!).
Bikini Kill - Rebel Girl
Rebel Girl is Bikini Kill’s most iconic feminist anthem. The single version was produced by guitar-slaying queen Joan Jett herself and features her on guitar and backing vocals! Although much more punk than alt rock/grunge in the essence, Rebel Girl has etched itself into the canon of the era. Kathleen Hanna pathed the way to embracing your sexual desires and ultimately gave voice to the lesbian community. The song also remains emblematic of the riot grrrl movement of the 1990s, which Hanna was a pioneer of.
L7 - Pretend We’re Dead
The all-female group L7 had zero cares to give. Their performance at the 1992 Reading Festival, during which frontwoman Donita Sparks infamously threw her tampon into the crowd, granted the group one of the most iconic moments of rock & roll history.
But we’re here to focus on the music, not the controversy. So here’s another anthem for you to check out: produced by Butch Vig, Pretend We’re Dead started as a heartbreak song but ended up being a sort of a political song expressing apathy towards then US president Reagan.
The Breeders - Cannonball
The Breeders were known as Pixie’s bassist Kim Deal’s side project until Cannonball came about and put The Breeders on top of charts. The video is as effortlessly cool as Kim Deal herself. The song’s intro is possibly one of the most recognizable of all the nineties female-fronted alternative rock bands, with its unmistakable bassline and chant-like gang vocals, aided by Kelley Deal’s recurring lead melody ringing out throughout the track.
Dirt Magic - She-riff
A somewhat lesser known formation on this side of the pond, the Aussie grungers Dirt Magic with a charismatic frontwoman Adalita rocking out on a cherry red Gibson SG. Adalita became the first female to grace the cover of the Australian Guitar magazine. She picked up a guitar at the age of 18 - a good thing to point out for all of you who think it’s “too late” to start learning an instrument. It is never too late. Go do it, don’t overthink it. For extra inspiration check out this ultimate badass rock chick commanding a Big Day Out festival crowd of over 200,000 people with her striking 3-chord She-Riff anthem, like the boss that she is.
Veruca Salt - Seether
Nina Gordon admitted in a 1994 interview that her songs' meanings can change during and after the writing process. "You write a song, think it's about one thing for five minutes....and discover that it's about many different things and working on many different levels." Such was the case with Seether. Ultimately the lyrics are meant to personify suppressed female rage. I can get onboard with that. I love this live footage of Seether from the 1995 Glastonbury set with Nina Gordon and Louise Post, both so nonchalantly cool and sloppy yet locked in and sharp with delivery.
Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out
A very underrated song by a very underrated band, if you ask me. Sleater-Kinney have released some incredible tunes throughout the years, and Dig Me Out has an irresistible musical arrangement about it. The slightly dissonant guitars in the verse almost clash with vocals, aided by hard rock style drums resulting in a landscape of emotional turmoil.
Babes in Toyland - Bruise Violet
Bruise Violet is the lead single of Babes in Toyland's second studio album titled Fontanelle. The song is believed to be an attack on Courtney Love and her “stealing” Kat Bjelland’s babydoll stage presence. Bjelland later denied it stating that "Violet" was simply a muse to both women. Whatever the story behind it, both the music video for Bruise Violet and the punchy guitar + bass riffs are superb representations of one of the best female fronted guitar bands of that time.
Sonic Youth - Bull in the Heather
Known for their exceptional use of alternate tunings, Sonic Youth represented yet another fascinating musical blend on the scene. The band wasn’t afraid of mixing a little bit of avant garde into the feedbacking, dissonant chords of Jazzmasters & Kim Gordon’s chunky Musicmaster basslines. Bull in the Heather offers all the above whilst also skillfully depicting the 90s aesthetics.
Final Thoughts
How does that feel? Are you energised and ready to take on the world? Can you envision yourself on stage with your own message to tell, joining the ranks of the best female guitarists of eras past?
I know you can. You can do this.
I hope this blog - covering just a selection of what I believe are the best riffs, solos and live performances by female guitarists in the 90s alt rock scene - inspired you to pick up guitar/bass/drums. If you already play but want some further guidance, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at guitarguitar for guitar setups, your next pedal, new amp, or simply any questions we can answer for you. We pride ourselves on having female employees in stores so pop in or give us a call today.
