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Artists To Watch In 2010

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Well, it’s finally here, the end of a decade. But instead of celebrating the joys of the last ten years, like the credible and in no way shit music of Mika, The Hoosiers, Scouting For Girls, The Fray, Chris Brown, T-Pain, N-Dubz, Lordi, The Darkness, Jonas Brothers, Goldie Lookin Chain and the return (ha!) and death (ha-ha!) of Oasis, I am going to look to the future, and hazard a guess as to who should be making waves in the 10s (doesnt really have a ring to it: shame). Enjoy this, my top fifteen to look out for in the next year.

15. Chew Lips

Hailing from South London, Chew Lips have been making music together since early 2008, but their presence has been relatively muted. Until now.

The electro-pop trio have had cameo appearances in music bible NME, been praised by The Fly and were in The Guardians Band of The Day feature, and have been on my radar since then. But its only now that Ive stood up and taken notice, after starting work on there impending debut album, the band are going from strength to strength. With tracks like Solo and Salt Air hitting the blogs and sounding great, there MUST be a big future for the band.

Sound A Bit Like: Little Boots
Download: Salt Air

14. Muchuu

Brother and Sister duo Muchuu are a very rare band. The electro-folk-pop twosome have appeared overnight, and seemed to have created a unique blend of cheery synthesised beats, and hauntingly sweet vocals that give them a certain innocence that hasnt been seen before.

Since playing Underage Festival in August, the band have been working on brilliant debut single Somebody Tell Me, and debut album Adventure We Go, which is due for release next year, which is sounding very, very promising.

Sound A Bit Like: Slow Club with Keyboards
Download: Somebody Tell Me

13. Dinosaur Pile Up

Leeds Grunge-Rock band Dinosaur Pile-Up have been around for a while, and 2010 looks set to be the year that they (deserve to) explode onto the airwaves.

With their MASSIVE guitar riffs and their CRASHING drums, these three guys definitely know how to make a noise. With this mastery of all things loud, its hard to see how they are yet to get the critic and record bosses salivating, but as I see it, if they keep releasing music, the fans will follow them to the end of the world. Fuck the labels, its the music that counts, and this is certainly fresh from the top draw.

Sound A Bit Like: Nirvana meets Biffy Clyro
Download: Summer Hit Single

12. Joy Orbison

Croydon based Dubstep producer Peter OGrady (A.K.A. Joy Orbison) is set to be 2010s Rusko.

His forward thinking, progressive vision for Dubstep is infused with elements of trance and house, which is taking the genre in new directions. Only Rusko before him has made a change to the genre by making it fun, but Joy Orbisons fresh take on Dubstep can only be a good thing.

Sound A Bit Like: Rusko listening to 90s Dance Classics
Download: HYPH MNGO

11. S.C.U.M

East London quintet S.C.U.M. are making their own, Krautrock, Shoegaze music, which, as Horrors as it sounds, is, well actually very Horrors. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

S.C.U.M offer a more psychedelic sound to the Horrors, with their love for understated vocals, haunting keyboard riffs and anti-pop track lengths, which make them very radio unfriendly, but make them an essential listen for Horrors fans. And they have one thing the Horrors do not. Youth. These guys are barely able to legally go into the venues they play at, and keyboardist Sam Kilcoyne has already set up a successful, annual music festival in Underage Festival (which is incredible). God damn the talented yoof of today!

Sound A Lot Like: The Horrors
Download: Oceans of White

10. The Chapman Family

Teeside band The Chapman Family, are set to cause a stir next year, with their apocalyptic take on punk.

The band, notorious for their increasingly life threatening stage antics, are shockingly still unsigned, but with three self-released singles under their belt, the band are certainly putting in the effort. Their almost constant level of touring has done them the world of good, with them receiving an almost cult-like status (despite their T-shirts denying this with the slogan The Chapman Family is not a Cult). A band that makes music for musics sake is a rare thing nowadays, and The Chapman Family are certainly doing this and doing it well.

Sound A Bit Like: The end of the world: in a good way!
Download: Virgins

9. Fenech-Soler

Another electro-pop outfit here, in the shape of Northamptonshire based Fenech-Soler. I was introduced to this band by a friend in October and fell in love with their new single Lies, with its pulsating synths, falsetto vocals and THE catchiest chorus since The Big Pinks Dominoes.

They are receiving a lot of attention from NMEtv, which has seen the video for Lies reach the channels top 10 most requested videos. This just shows that the music and the fans are there, which should (hopefully) mean the labels will follow suit and make a name of Fenech-Soler.

Sound A Bit Like: Friendly Fires jamming with Frankmusik
Download: Lies

8. Ou Est Le Swimming Pool

Out of all the electro-pop bands on the list, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool are the one that I think will go the furthest, mainly because they have an element of originality about them that is hard to find in other electro-pop bands.

Their music is much darker than your average electro track, but has elements of the electro bands that defined the 80s pop scene, such as Pet Shop Boys and Duran Duran. The synth and vocal elements of the band are very dark and mysterious, but they still manage to make people dance. Very surreal, but a very, very worthwhile listen.

Sound A Bit Like: Human League meets The Pet Shop Boys meets The Whip
Download: Dance The Way I Feel

7. Flashguns

The first indie band on the list and definitely one of the best around, London trio Flashguns brand of almost operatic indie rock is astoundingly hard not to like.

Tracks like Panama and Bells At Midnight are hauntingly refreshing, whilst I Dont Not Love You cleverly features heartbreaking lyrics over upbeat indie music. It seems the band is always trying to push the boundaries of indie music by giving a fresh take on a worn down genre. This innovation is hard to ignore, and I think they can only get bigger and better from here on out.

Sound A Bit Like: Bombay Bicycle Club vs. Foals vs. The Future
Download: I Dont Not Love You

6. Elephants

Folkestones Elephants, touted by Huw Stevens and the BBC Introducing team, are a band that need to be heard in the coming months.

Their guitar based indie-rock is a wonder to behold (that may be the most old fashioned and underrated phrase ever), and how they havent yet broken into the public eye is beyond me. With songs like Take My Breath Away and single Alexander its hard to see how the NME or Artrocker havent noticed them, but give it time and theyll be in them sometime in the future.

With their beautifully well-crafted lyrics, brilliant live shows and the fact that theyre barely a year old working in their favour, its hard to write them off just yet.

Sound A Bit Like: The best bits of The Pigeon Detectives
Download: Alexander

5. Delphic

Manchester music has always been bright, with bands like Elbow and The Whip hailing from the town: and Oasis but the less said the better.

Anyway, Manchester now has a big new band for the future, hoping to bring some credibility back to the town in the wake of the Gallaghers rage. Delphic are taking inspiration from New Order, White Lies and Joy Division, and sounding all the better for it, with their enigmatic synth driven indie. The new sound of Manchester? I bloody hope so.

Sound A Bit Like: Klaxons with a White Lies edge
Download: Counterpoint

4. Marina & The Diamonds

Welsh/ Greek singer-songwriter Marina Diamandis is one of those artists that you just cannot dislike. Shes got everything. Shes eccentric, talented, quirky and every bit the pop star.

Her music is somewhere between Britney and The Dresden Dolls, which may seem a strange area to pitch your music, but it really, really works. Her live shows are incredible (her performance at this years Underage Festival was absolutely amazing) and theres an air of attitude about her which give her an edge over most upcoming pop stars. If she can translate this early promise into her debut album The Family Jewels – due out in February then theres no question that shell blow the cobwebs of futuristic retro and American RnB and take the charts by storm.

Sound A Bit Like: The anti Kate Nash
Download: Hollywood

3. The Drums

New York band The Drums are not your typical Brooklyn band. They are for surf pop what Pirates of the Caribbean was for films labelled as swashbuckling adventures. With obvious resonances of the Beach Boys, and perhaps less obvious influences such as The Smiths and joy Division, the band are very diverse.

They could be a similar story to Vampire Weekend, with their unique and almost outlandish music becoming more and more popular as it is discovered by more and more people. And, it cant be a bad thing to have their debut release Summertime E.P. released on Moshi Moshi records, the same label that released early material from Late of the Pier and Kate Nash, and we all know how that went down!

Sound A Bit Like: The Beach Boys fronted by Morrissey
Download: Lets Go Surfing

2. Ellie Goulding

Herefordshires finest, Ellie Goulding is an intriguing prospect. Her folk/electronica (or, fake genre of the year nominee right here, folktronica) has been very well received by music gurus such as Jools Holland (ha!) and Huw Stevens, and by the blogosphere (she was number one on the hype machine in early November).

Her tracks, like Under The Sheets and Starry Eyed are blends of her hauntingly beautiful voice and the brilliantly engineered guitars/ synths, that is so different to the normal, pop music in the charts, and is certainly worth a listen.

Sound A Bit Like: Laura Marling meets The Pogues (maybe the most random sentence ever, but is honestly true:ish)
Download: Under The Sheets

1. Two Door Cinema Club

And finally, we reach number one, and its definitely worth the wait. These Bangor lads make the most infectious, danceable and downright stunning indie/electro/pop songs, that are just so, so, so catchy.

Their musical range is very varied, with tracks like Something Good Can Work edging to the summery-indie-pop end of the spectrum, and others like Cigarettes In The Cinema edging the other way, to a, well, wintery-indie-pop style (only in the fact that the music feels bleaker, but equally good, if not better).

With their lyrical precision, their staccato riff style and their ability to make a hell of a noise on the live scene, Two Door Cinema Club are certainly worthy of the number one spot in my definitive guide to the next 12 months of music.

Sound A Bit Like: Bloc Party if they were ever in a good mood
Download: I Can Talk

Now, the list is finally done. 15 great bands later and it has been decided. If there are any bands you think deserve to be on the list then please comment, and if you disagree with any of these suggestions, then comment too. Bring on 2011!