Back after a prolonged period of festive eating and drinking with Beast Make Bomb from New York City.
They've a rather lovely EP called 'Skinny Legs' which you can download on a pay what you like basis, you can listen to below.
It's catchy as hell, full of sparkling guitars and ethereal female vocals creating a punk-rocky sound which an fair dosage of pop. Highlighted to perfection on the two potential hits of "Zombie Song and "Rewind" both could be radio-friendly A-Playlisted with their infectious melodies and enough oh and ohh's to get inside your head from the first listen.
From a quick peek on the bands facebook page it seems they've been recording a second EP, that will be one to check out.
The following two posts are a bit self-indulgent and I apologise for that, but they are in a nutshell the ten bands / artists that I've fallen for (or even more so) this year. There is clearly a bit of a cross over with my albums. Basically this is my top ten gigs of the year (with the exception of one artist I've not seen), but sometimes where I've seen the artist more than once (TJF like a dozen times, Caitlin seven and so on) I've changed it a little...
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10. She Keeps Bees – Live in Feb / March
Earlier on in the year when I’d barely heard of a few other artists who were to become the staple postings of this blog I fell in love with a couple from Brooklyn called She Keeps Bees. Jess & Andy perform bluesy rock songs with an edge which makes them one of the most compelling live acts I’ve seen.
Jess is hilarious on-stage her banter with the crowd never fails to disappoint. I saw them for the first time at the Old Blue Last in February and then at The Lexington in early March, both shows were simply fantastic. Her sister was at the Lexington gig and she dedicated “Cage Match” off the first album to her, it was a beautiful moment. Then you have the relentless energy of “Gimme”, “Wear Red” and “Release”. Get a couple of recordings in the archives courtesy of NYC Taper.
They’ve not returned to the UK since then, hopefully early 2011 will rectify that. The last we had was the SKB-005 / Make it Easy 7” record which you should own.
I think the Exquisite Corpses EP is one of my favourite EP releases ever. I pretty much adore every song on it. From the shoegazey glory of “Stars”, the spellbinding vocal interchanges of “Beetles”, the rock vibe of “Elephants” to the simply gorgeous “Billie Holiday” there is nothing to fault. I didn’t think you could better the EP until I saw them live at The Great Escape and The Lexington in May and found out that Warpaint were even better live.
The proof came when the frankly amazing Noisemakers session was released showcasing the girls as one of the best groups to emerge from the spotlights this year.
As well as this beautiful acoustic version of “Billie Holiday”
Since then we’ve had the release of ‘The Fool’, a front cover of NME, two more great shows (Scala and Camden Barfly) yeah the girls are something special, Stella on the drums, hell yeah.
2011 promises more (BBC sound of 2011?!), unfortunately for me and fellow small venue chasers, the girls will be playing venues much, much bigger than I got used to this year but I shall be in attendance to see their rise and it’s good to see such a talented group being championed for a change rather than some Simon Cowell fodder.
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8. Mountain Man – Glastonbury
This was one of those aimless moments that will go down in memory for a long time, I was wondering around the Park at Glastonbury with no real place to go. England had been dumped out of the World Cup, my friends wanted to get a good spot for Stevie Wonder, act on stage were Tony Allen, MGMT and Jack Johnson and with zero interest in any of those acts I thought I’d climb the hill to where there was a big ‘Glastonbury 40’ sign for a couple of decent photos across the site.
As I got towards the summit of the hill I saw Conor from Villagers coming the other way from what looked like a big shack / tipi so I headed towards there for a snoop. When I got there three girls were singing a cappella to a crowd of about 15/20 people. It was breathtaking; I had never heard of them previously but was instantly smitten.
Beautiful songs and beautiful voices. Their chemistry was amazing and they were clearly having a great time, too much of one maybe as Amelia forgot the words which led to a mass hysteria until they composed themselves a few minutes later.
See it here:
and
After the set had finished (I caught about 15-20 minutes) investigation of the area led me to find it was called the Crow’s Nest and other acts that day were Villagers (hence seeing Conor!), as well one from The Magic Numbers which would have been a bit good. In 2011 I shall be going to the Crow’s Nest a lot. I advice you to do the same.
I've since seen Mountain Man a couple of times, once in Brighton and once at the equally beautiful St Giles in the Field Church in London. They are without doubt three of the nicest, charming and wonderful girls in music today. Their music is beautiful, there is nothing not to like when it comes to Mountain Man.
This leads nicely onto the next highlight…
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7. Dirty Projectors – Glastonbury
This was probably the highlight of the whole festival weekend, my mood was sky high after Mountain Man and it was a brave move to stay at The Park for a band I quite liked what I’d heard (which wasn’t a great deal) and miss Stevie Wonder.
One I only made because after four days of Glastonbury sun and England’s inept performance meant a trek back across to the other side of the festival and into 100,000 people didn’t particularly appeal to me. I don’t regret it. Yes, I missed Stevie Wonder and Michael Eavis “duet” but I got to see an exceptional performance by Dirty Projectors to a very appreciative crowd.
I never really listened to ‘Bitte Orca’ in 2009 so as a late adopter it was the first time I’d seen them, it didn’t take long to be smitten with songs as good as “Two Doves” and “Stillness in the Move”, one of the best performance I’ve seen this year from this talented American act.
I saw The National back in 2005 at The 100 Club and I’m man enough to admit that I left early. I knew “Karen”, “Secret Meeting” and “Abel” back then and although I can’t recall the reasons why, clearly The National didn’t quite click with me and thus for the next however long I mainly ignored them…
Fast forward five years and I recall seeing the blogosphere going a little crazy for ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’ so I gave it a listen, it was instant “Wow”. So I dug out my copy of ‘Alligator’ and it was schoolboy moment - How / Why had I let so long go by without actually giving The National more of an airing.
Thus in 2010 The National are my third top played artist I am completely smitten with the new album as well as ‘Alligator’ and ‘Boxer’ and feel frankly a bit of a fool, I’m glad my tastes appeared to have matured.
Probably my favourite song is “About Today” and it was great to see them play that when I finally caught The National live again at The Electric Ballroom, there was no early departure that day I promise and when I next caught them at Glastonbury they were one of the bands of the weekend. ‘High Violet’ has finally seen The National get some mainstream rewards, so the punishment for being so slow off the mark, is that from now on in I’ll be watching The National in larger arenas, that’s a price I’ll have to pay.
Moral of this story is simple – give music you listened to a few years and thought “nah” another try now, you might find yourself, older, wiser and a little more open to it.
Ten Favourite Musical Moments in 2010 - Part Two (Numbers 5-1)
Here's the top five musical highlights of 2010 for me a variety of reasons. I've rambled on below...
5. Soap&Skin – Live at Union Chapel
I’m still a little confused by this show. It was so intense, so spectacular but also completely nuts / on-edge that I can’t get my head around it. I thought Anja was on the brink of a breakdown at the time, I still do but I have been told it was all “part of the show” but I have not seen someone tackle/ appear to tackle so many stage demons as Soap&Skin that night.
Yet for someone who had to fight back the tears a few times and had to stop to gain composure on a couple of occasions the show was phenomenal, really it was just absolutely amazing. From the majestic beauty of “Cynthia” and “Mr Gaunt Pt. 1000” to the incredibly amazing heathen like possessed chants of “Marche Funebre”. That particular song is the best finale I’ve seen all year and second only to “There is no Light” for show stopping. Here it is from another show:
It defied any logic I could come up with that someone who was struggling to compose themselves just minutes before could come up to the front of the stage of Union Chapel and literally belt out a demonic and utterly mesmerizing performance like Anja did during “Marche Funebre”.
One thing I do know is that when Soap&Skin return I’ll be in attendance.
Read my show review at the time here.
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4. Holly Miranda – August – I’d Rather Go Blind / NYC Taper / Fiume Nights Session…
One of my biggest regrets of the year (in a musical sense) is July 26th. Holly Miranda was playing the Borderline, I had a ticket but the mixture of being at a Christening up north the day before and a general lethargic attitude meant I didn’t go.
How silly I was because just a few weeks later I completely fell for Holly’s music mainly thanks to this clip of her covering Etta James...
Soon after NYC Taper put a few recordings online. (Download them here and here). By this point I was completely smitten and in denial that just a few weeks earlier I’d missed a chance to see her live myself, especially as Holly hasn’t returned to the UK since.
Least these sessions and recordings have given me a taste of what her live show would have been like and boy does it sound good. There hasn’t been any news since the summer, hopefully we’ll see a return soon in early 2011 (fingers crossed).
Holly’s album ‘The Magician’s Private Library’ came out in February and has been criminally overlooked on the whole, make sure you give it a listen because it’s one of the years best without doubt.
Download some of the above sessions here.
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3. Wildbirds & Peacedrums – Live at the Lexington and the jaw-dropping brilliance of “There is No Light”…
Probably my favourite gig of the year was Wildbirds & Peacedrums live at the Lexington, I’m not very good at decided something for certain like that but without doubt the biggest “Oh My Fucking God This Is AMAZING” moment was during “There is No Light”. It was epic, the drumming of Andreas Werliin was incredibly intense and the vocals of Mariam’s are above extraordinary. The strength and range of her voice is simply amazing. It was what they call a “Goosebumps” moment.
This isn’t the same show, but it gives you an idea:
It was not a one song show, “My Heart” is equally amazing, the encore saw a beautiful cover of “Wild is the Wind”. Another older song “Today/Tomorrow” again is the perfect song with yet another epic drum peak.
Their amazing performance reduced The Lexington to silence (seems a lot of my favourite gigs this year have been there!) and definitely one of the highlights of my musical year.
Read my initial thoughts here and more of W&P’s here.
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2. Caitlin Rose – August / September shows
The late summer of 2010 was all about Caitlin Rose, from August 19th to October 4th I saw her seven times, then once again in November. I saw her solo, with half a band, a full band and in a variety of locations, none of them disappointed, all of them left me feeling that Caitlin is something special.
From playing to 600 or so people at XOYO with the full band and performing almost a ‘rock & roll’ show to the 150 people squeezed into Brixton Windmill for an intimate show just as Radio Two started to champion her Caitlin has triumphed and succeeded to win over the hearts of so many people.
Her beautiful voice, endearing personality and above all wonderful lyrics and songs have been the sound track to so many of my days this year that I owe an awful lot to the Nashville singer.
‘Own Side Now’ is finally due for a US release in March 2011, I do hope it doesn’t mean Caitlin will forget us over here, I doubt it, it does seem that she’s at home in London – I hope so – you’re welcome here whenever Caitlin. Sometime soon please!
Read my original live review of Caitlin here and here, an interview here and the full archive for some live material, album review and general Caitlin love-in.
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1. The Joy Formidable – The NME Tour and March Tour.
These were simply a brilliant few weeks, if you’ve read this rambling shambles of a blog for any length of time you’ll know I’m pretty obsessed with The Joy Formidable, it was good to see them on some of the biggest stages they’ve ever headlined, even if the later tour was an NME sponsored event and had one of the worst supports I’ve ever heard (Flats) and also one of the most boring bands ever (Chapel Club).
The Joy Formidable are one of the most energetic and engaging bands I’ve ever come across. Every single show is an experience full of relentless energy. I’ve seen them about 20 times (so far) and I’ve never walked away one bit disappointed apart from that the show was over. The NME tour stepped it up a notch more from the March tour, the sound is expanding, their performances are show stopping and with songs like Spectrum / Whirring / The Greatest Light etc the material is suited to the live arena. Never do the guys disappoint, they give everything they have 100% of the time and then a little bit more too. Something a bit like this (hope there is a full recording of this – upcoming DVD maybe?!):
Hear a few recordings from the tour in the TJF archive here.
Plenty more to come in 2011, including ‘The Big Roar’….
This blog has changed a bit from when I first started it, I'm pretty sure I never expected to carry on with it quite as long as I have already or have between 500-1000 hits a day so thanks for looking or whatever it is that made you be here. I'm enjoying this as a side-pastime and have zero plans to stop anytime soon.
It's not that time consuming doing a post or two a day and I quite easily fit it around being a gigoholic, alcoholic and family life. It's also opened up some much amazing new music to me, for that reason alone it's more than worth it...
Here's a Christmas orientated mix tape for you to listen / download. Mediafire link below.
I'm sick to death of hearing Shakin Stevens, Slade, Wizzard, Cliff and co. Here's a more alternative playlist:
Dreamers of the Ghetto are a family band located in Bloomington, Indiana, they started playing as a trio and since have added a drummer to their ranks instead of relying on a drum machine, which is a great thing in my opinion.
I stumbled across them just last week and was instantly hooked. I probably use the phrase 'favourite new band' a lot but Dreamers of the Ghetto literally are... First single "Tether" is simply outstanding. An almost Jim Steinman esque seven and a half minute running time makes an exhilarating journey combining relentless drum beats, an awesome vocal and synths. It's a shame I've already published my favourite tracks of 2010, otherwise this would be in it, I guess it will have to wait for 2011.
There are a batch of demos up on the bands MySpace and they all show an insane amount of potential. From the 'Blade Runner' esque instrumental "Crime Scene", similar film-noir soundscapes run through the other demos highlighted best on "Night Hawks" and "Phone Call". Dual vocals, keys, guitars and percussion make for some wonderful dark synth-indie music. I've been enjoying all the tracks so much that I'm really failing to find the adequate words to describe, so I'll keep this short and sweet and just say that Dreamers of the Ghetto looked primed to explode. Be there to see what happens, give them a listen...
Check out "Tether" below, followed by a couple of videos (although I'll offer a warning about strobe / flashing light usage before clicking on the "Tether" video):
The Skeleton Dead are a duo from London who formed in the summer of 2010. They have released four tracks via their MySpace / Soundcloud pages.
You can stream a couple of those at the end of this post and I'd recommend you do just that...
The band state an influence as Leonard Cohen and you can hear that in the reflective and sometimes witty lyrics which tell tales of death, love and Seafaring. The latter is the clear theme in my pick of the four tracks “A Nautical Tale”. Knol, the main vocalist, has a distinct low, hushed voice which combines wonderfully in contrast with Claire's pretty sweet vocal. Musically simple and sparse, the main instrument throughout is an understated and gentle acoustic guitar, which is plucked over the smooth dual vocal with splendid grace. Although the enchanting “Gather up Your Clothes” runs it quite close with its pretty, graceful melody.
If your enjoy folk music and the utter simplicity of plucked acoustic guitar combined with some well-measured vocals, The Skeleton Dead may well be a new group worth savouring.
Fierce Creatures released their debut EP 'I Mostri Feroci' this past summer but it only came to my attention thanks to an email from Nathaniel from the band... Although hailing from California, I'm getting quite a few English similarities, Wild Beasts and the sadly defunct Grammatics along with a similar vibe of Fanfarlo spring to mind.
'I Mostri Feroci' is a quirky folk-pop EP full of fast choruses, crazy yet brilliant instrumentations and beautiful harmonised male/female vocals.
"Satan is a Vampire" sets the tone for the EP. Sparkling, twinkly guitars combine with meandering vocals and infectious chants. Keys, and orchestral pieces are interwoven during many of the tracks and repeat listens discovers hidden depth. On the more subtle ballad "The Great White" Amanda takes a great amount of the vocal duty with beautiful results.
Probably my favourite though is the wonderful closure "The Brute and The Beast" which starts gentle percussion, strings and more shimmering guitar yet breaks into an almost western-esque sound midway through before ending in an epic and insane finale which leaves you wanting much more. Hopefully next year will bring just that with a new EP / full-length due.
'I Mostri Feroci' is a richly textured EP, one which embodies many musical genres and stylings over its twenty five minute duration, which when taken apart, co-exist to create an album of lush beauty, and satisfaction. The EP costs just $5 from the band direct and it looks rather nice too. See below:
This one is a bit rubbish news I'm afraid. One of my favourites (and hopes for 2011) Stricken City's next album 'Losing Colour' is to be their last... really rubbish news. I do hope it's not the last we see of them.
You can pre-order the album for a paltry £1.00 in their shop - do that - and give more because £1.00 is silly, cheap! Also get their first album too - it's amazing.
There is a farewell show at The Drop, Stoke Newington on Thursday 10th February, tickets are ridiculously cheap for that too - get them here.
I think She & Him were unlucky to miss out on my top albums of the year, perhaps because their music is so super cute and summery it didn't quite seem right to include them when compiling year end lists in early December snow... They were certainly one of my most blogged / listened to bands over the summer months and I really enjoyed their Koko show back in May(?) I've everything Matt and Zooey have released so far and this lovely little version of a Christmas Classic does them no harm whatsoever, add in an utterly brilliant version of 'I Put a Spell on You' during the Conan O'Brien show (a US chat show?) and it's something well worth spending the next five minutes of your time with ... so watch below:
I don't need to add anymore superlatives, just some news and music to find here... Caitlin Rose is coming back for a UK / European tour in February and March 2011. Hooray!! I'm sure there will be some additional / European dates added in due course, but for now we have the following dates in the UK:
With 'Own Side Now' coming out in the States on March 15th this could well be the last chance to see Caitlin before the festival season.
Another blogger who seems to love Caitlin as much as me is Drunkenwerewolf. They've hosted various covers by Caitlin on their blog, go and download them now. They are varying quality as some are live rips from YouTube (I'm guessing) but adding those to the collection of tracks in my archive makes a lovely little collection alongside the official releases.
Another reminder to get the album from Rough Trade whilst stocks of the 'Columbia Hotel EP' last because it is rather lovely and contains not one, but two festive treats... Here's a couple of streaming delights for your ears this Friday:
This is lovely, I'm really glad that over the last few years it has become popular for bands to record a nice Christmas (or anti-Christmas) song or two...
Beach House are the latest to chuck their hat into the ring with a lovely new track called "I Do Not Care For Winter Sun" you can head over to their website and download it now and listen below:
If you look back on my archive you'll see I was blown away when I saw Kitten live at the end of October, since I've picked them as one of my bands to watch in 2011 and their debut 'Sunday School' (buy) is one of my favourite EP's of the year. So naturally I was very happy to come across this very nice live recording of one of their gigs from LA a few weeks back...
It's a great combination of their own material, released and un-released and some well placed covers too. If you've not listened to Kitten before, change that now.
EDIT: The band have released a brand, spanking new demo today: Apples & Cigarettes. It's very nice too, not as energetic as "Kill the Light" but it's lovely little song, Chloe's voice as gorgeous as ever. You can listen and download below: Kitten - Apples & Cigarettes (demo mix) by morrisday
I'm surprised this is only the second posting I've done for Still Corners... I feel like they are a band who I name-check whenever I'm asked about bands I'm currently into and think will produce something rather special...
Here we have a new song, well when I saw new, it's a cover of a 'Rouge Wave' track called "Eyes". Naturally it comes complete with the trademark of all Still Corners releases to date; lush soundscapes and a dreamy vocal which are enough to brighten any mood.
Their next single is planned for early 2011, my advice is to keep an eye out and get it ordered before it gets snapped up just like “Don’t Fall In Love” did.
No new UK tour news besides their date at the Shhh festival on January 22nd, although I'm sure it will follow... I've seen Still Corners twice now and that figure will only multiply in 2011.
US fans will be pleased to know there is a NY show planned for March 11th.
The third album by The Boxer Rebellion is nearly with us, 'The Cold Still' is released in the UK on February 7th.
Go to the boxers own website to read more about it and the news that it will be accompanied by a bonus disc of previously unreleased material on orders from HMV! That sounds rather splendid.
If you want a signed version you can get one from Recordstore. If you prefer(!) it digitally, here is an iTunes link with a bonus track "You"
'The Cold Still' tracklisting is as follows:
No Harm
Step Out Of The Car
Locked In The Basement
Cause For Alarm
Caught By The Light
Organ Song
Memo
Both Sides Are Even
The Runner
Doubt
As well as that news, you can also watch the video for the first single off the album "Step out of the car" below:
I like it, it's perhaps not "Evacuate" but it's a nice preview of the album, looking foward to hearing the rest and of course seeing the band live again, they never fail to but on a show... think I'm on about ten times now which says that better than words.
From the general postings I make, it's clear that it tends to be female voices that get me, probably 75% of my new band postings have female leads, (although historically my favourite acts are not) Artur Dyjecinski is definitely an exception to that rule... I originally posted about Artur just after seeing him with Caitlin back in August.
Since, his wonderful track "and he showed me the way of the Buffalo" has made its way into my top 20 most played tracks this year. You can listen to that and another demo "No Dead Horses" on his MySpace (link above). His deep vocal and engaging, thoughtful compositions make some of the most beautiful country-folk music I've heard, I'm certainly waiting for more new material.
He's one of the acts with a track on The Line of Best Fit's Ho Ho Ho! Canada Deux Christmas Compilation which contains 30 original, traditional and cover versions of songs by believe it or not, Canadian artists... I've highlighted this as a Artur post but there are some other great Christmas songs on this FREE compilation, so head over to TLOBF and help yourself.
I really like BandCamp as a medium to listen or buy CD's / Mp3's from bands. Let's face it MySpace is now horrendous for the user, it takes up all your computer resources and is ad-central. Drop down adverts and enforced ad pages equal instant turn away for me. The sooner all bands leave it in favour of BC / Soundcloud the better ...
Another thing guaranteed to make me happy is bands making their material available electronically for free / not a lot of money... so with the news that you can download Chalk and Numbers debut EP 'He Knew' for free right here combined with a wonderful 60's retro summery pop vibe means that this Brooklyn’s boy/girl duo are onto a winner...
I've been enjoying their sounds a lot these last few days... Full of a charming vibe, some pretty as a flower lyrics and a lovely vocal and happy melodies which really is making a lovely contrast to the winter / Christmas chills that have been filling the pages recently.
With Cults and Tennis earmarked to make the retro 60's pop act mainstream in 2011, Chalk and Numbers might just be in that same bracket before long. Yeah, this is very nice.
So my weekend kind of passed by in a blink of an eye and I did about 5% of the jobs I planned to do. Still don't have any presents sorted besides a CD for my Mum, and the same one for my Dad...
Monday it is, I did find the time to listen to this... What happens if you take everyone's favourite Christmas track (yes it is), remove all the cheese and add I Like Trains melancholy? Well something like the end result in this wonderful adaption of "Last Christmas"... Highly enjoyable and sure to be on my xmas mix tape - although I'm not sure my Nan will agree!
Want it? Then head over to Leeds Music Scene and grab your free download now. Listen below:
No words on this one other than buy the exquisite 'Learning' - I put the record at number 14 on my best of 2010 list but it's hardly been off my record player this week, so maybe that was a little low! There is a new deluxe version coming out with three additional tracks so make sure that's the one you get.
I've not done a favourite EP's / 7"'s of 2010 yet, if I were to do one, Leelou's debut EP Kiss. Death. Love. Come. Would definitely be in the top ten, it's great, here's what I said last month. I highly recommend you download it from iTunes.
What prompted this posting is the discovery of a new stripped-down track song named "Cat Got Your Tongue" where Leelou has gone all Americana on us, it's wonderful too. Portraying a dry, sultry voice in this simple yet wonderfully crafted video:
Merely days after I picked Lanterns on the Lake as one of my hopes for 2010, it's been announced that they've signed to the wonderful Bella Union label (home to Beach House / Mountain Man / Alessi's Ark and more). This is great news and no more than the band deserve, their gorgeous, dreamy music will reach a much wider audience, who'll no doubt soon fall for Lanterns brilliant, melodic instrumentations and Hazel's beautiful voice, just like I've been for the past six months or so.
I can't wait to hear their next release on their new label (soon please!). For now though, we've their three EP's to listen to. Get them whilst you can (Lanterns Shop). If you're still in the dark, change that now!
The band are playing at the Bella Union Xmas show at Union Chapel next week. A very limited edition 10” release from Bella Union will also coincide with this show - with an exclusive track each from Philip Selway (Radiohead), Peter Broderick, Alessi’s Ark and Lanterns On The Lake. Lanterns have recorded a special ‘Winter Version’ of ‘I Love You, Sleepyhead’ especially for this release. You can listen to it below. The Christmas 10” is limited to a 150 copies and you can order it here - sounds nice doesn't it.
Hailing from Sweden, Death and Vanilla make some noir-pop which has come swirling melodic arrangements and a pretty hypnotic vocal which adds up to crete an dark, old-school syth sound perfect for the winter months ahead.
They've just released their first EP.
It's out via the bands bandcamp above, or you can get a limited to 100 CD copy via hands in the dark.
Just a quick post before I return properly tomorrow. I do hope a few people found either a new highlight for 2010 or a band to follow next year during my various ramblings that started the month... I purposely neglected post other bands whilst I concentrated on those...
I featured this song by The Cordelier Club last month, but as it's been released now, I thought I'd refresh your memory and there is also a video to watch above if you prefer that to streaming... "Don't Let It Go By" is a brilliant, infectious three minute pop song and is well worth 79 pence of your money.
You can listen / download the B-Side for free right here.
A bloggers favourite in 2010, and one that appear to fulfil the hype after their three or four releases so far. Ontario based dreampop duo Memoryhouse encapture a woozy yet beautiful sound. Highlighted best on their 'Caregiver' single. The title track is a dreamy wonder and b-side "Heirloom" is the most up-tempo song we've heard from Memoryhouse so far, and also one of the best.
You can download a free EP from the band and also check out the 'Lately EP' which is also wonderful. They've also done some wonderful covers including My Bloody Valentine and Grizzly Bear.
2:54 received a flurry of blog attention in the summer and are yet to release any further material. I saw them a couple of times in the autumn firstly supporting Blood Red Shoes where I thought they were good to ok but not unlike anything I'd seen before, then again with Warpaint and I thought they were excellent.
Their sound is a moody, dirty shoegaze / grunge full of reverb, distortion and noise. Hopefully they've been building on their solid base and will come back in 2011 with a new set of songs as good as the first three.
Will Ramona be 2011’s answer to Blondie? Yes. That's a very simple answer, and a truthful one. Their punk-influenced indie-pop songs are strong enough that even without the striking good looks of lead-singer Karen Anne, Ramona would be big news. Infectious guitar riffs mark their energetic live show.
Highlights of their material so far are "Gorgeous Garbage" a wonderful ballad with shimmering guitar lines and beautiful vocals, the first song that got my attention "Steve McQueen" with it's anthemic uh-uh-uhs and "Tell That Girl" an electro tinged, indie-pop smash hit in the making.
Signed to Columbia, managed by Sharleen Spiteri; what it all adds up to is that Ramona are gonna be a big, big news in 2011.
The newest discovery on this list. Gazelle Twin is a musical artist from Brighton who creates some sublime, eerie electronica with a gorgeous ghostly vocal which add up to a hauntingly beautiful yet freakily disturbing twist on electronic music.
Her debut single "Changelings" and it's B-side Prince cover blew me away. It's brooding synths and ethereal vocals are very much my thing and they were done to perfection here and the demos on her myspace site demos hint at massive sounding Fever Ray styled gothic masterpieces to come.
I've got a feeling her shows in 2011 could be some of the most visually stunning of the year.
As if I was going to do a tips post and not mention The Joy Formidable!
I really don't need to add too much on this post, if you've read this blog you'll know from the 50 previous posts that TJF are my band to watch.
If you are new here, then listen up, The Joy Formidable are going to blow the cobwebs off 2011 on January 24th when their long overdue Debut LP 'The Big Roar' arrives.
Make sure you've got it on order now and see them on their UK tour in Feb, European tour in Feb / March. I'm sure the states will get them again afterwards.
So that's my list. 11 out of the 15 are from the UK, go us! I had another ten bands or so that I could have included, but I've gone with these (all fifteen are female vocalists - sorry boys! Not sure if I can be accused of anti-sexism - does that even exist?!). A lot of these fit within a similar genre too, so sorry if you are not massively into indie-pop / indie-rock / electronica! I guess this is the style of music that is exciting me most at the moment...
I've kind of ignored the folkier side here. There are some great upcoming acts I've featured recently such as Daughter / Stealing Sheep / Georgia Ruth / Escapists who I'm looking forward to seeing and listening to their next releases.
I've compiled a mix-tape for you to download of one of my favourite tracks for each artist. Feel free to download share around with your friends / blog (just put a link to this post). Hope you enjoy it:
Who are your tips for 2011? Let me know in the comments box below and I'll promise to give them a listen, as long as they aren't Hip-Hop / R&B / Rap acts!
One of the newest discoveries on this list, I came across Kitten just a few days before I saw them play at Camden Barfly back in October where they completely blew me away with a dazzling performance.
This young band from Los Angeles have produced a fine EP this year named 'Sunday School' which highlights a wonderful indie-rock sound. Lead singer Chloe channelling a serious Karen O vibe, "Kill the Light" especially shows some incredible potential. Can't what to see them live again, they were relentless, energetic and most importantly of all, fucking brilliant. "Kitten With a Whip" was pretty insane live.
Check out the acoustic video below to see that as well as their energetic rock performances, they can just as easily produce a gorgeous mellow sound too, Chloe's voice is exceptional.
Make sure you get their 'Sunday School EP', looking forward to what comes next. Hopefully a UK return before too long.
If you come here often then hope won't be much of a surprise. I've mentioned Let's Buy Happiness on numerous occasions over the past six months.
Jangly, swirling indie-pop tunes are the Newcastle bands hallmark and their debut EP 'No Hot Ashes' highlighted them to be a band with excellent potential, single 'Six Wolves' cemented that before a couple of radio sessions since (with two exceptional new tracks "Clean Mistake" and "Fast Fast") have made me stupidly excited to hear the new material.
"Six Wolves" combines a flurry of percussion and shimmering guitar lines making a wonderful texture and combined with Sarah's beautiful ethereal vocal make it an absolute gem. LBH are one of my favourite new bands. So far, I've seen them twice, both festival slots (The Great Escape and Glastonbury). I'm looking forward to seeing live again soon and as the headlining slot this time, thankfully I don't have to wait too long as they are playing London early next year (January 27th 2011 in Hoxton).
Book them as tour support TJF please!
Terror Bird's music hit me like a big truck towards the end of the summer, their single "Shadows in the Halls" started me off, followed by the simply amazing B-Side "We Were Monsters". Further delving into the duo's archive uncovered the equally wonderful "Shame is on Your Side EP".
Terror Bird is Vancouver duo Nikki Never and Jeremiah Haywood. Their ghostly synths and Nikki's melodic voice are perfect for their dark electro-pop tracks.
2011 will bring some new releases (an LP on the Night People label and a EP on a label I may or may not have something to do with - more to come on that soon!). There is a European tour in Feb / March. UK dates are as yet unannounced but will be in early March. So, so excited for those dates. Listen below...
Summer Camp are Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey. Their Nostalgia filled, sugar-sweet synth laden pop songs are pretty infectious, they are signed to Moshi Moshi label home to Slow Club and Florence. This years 'Young EP' gave us a great introduction to the band, hopefully a full-length will follow next year and build on the potential shown .
Their music comes across as effortless, it's upbeat approach, beautiful vocals and twee harmonies that makes for an easy and enjoyable listen, best highlighted for me on "Was it Worth it?", "Ghost Train" and the unreleased "88".
Signed to Bella Union in the middle of 2010, they teased with a three songs on their myspace and since then we've heard absolutely zilch.
Those songs however were so good that I have every faith that I Break Horses will be a major player next year under the management of the always reliable label.
I Break Horses is Maria Linden from Stockholm, her songs are dreamy shoegaze-pop songs which by the early demos promise an awful, awful lot. The 'Terminator' style synth beat in "Hearts" is killer with a hushed, whispered vocal and "Wired" a more traditional distorted shoegaze song is also well worth your time.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to hearing what this Swedish act has in store for us in 2011.
Listen:
Removed until the launch of I Break Horses, coming soon.
http://beastmakebomb.bandcamp.com/album/skinny-legs 
