LES SINS

Sometimes listening to a thumping, repetitive beat for four minutes with a few changes and additions through out, is the best thing ever in the world. A lot of people do it, but some do it better than others. Les Sins, the new thang from the bloke who done the world good with Toro Y Moi (and continues to do so) is currently doing it very well. It takes the more dancey moments from Toro Y Moi's debut and repeats them so you can wiggle about on the dance floor for as long as you like. You WILL wiggle.

www.myspace.com/lessins


For Fans Of:

Toro Y Moi, Daft Punk, Star Slinger

EGYPTIAN HIP HOP

Here's the equation: The Cure + Late Of The Pier = Egyptian Hip Hop. If that doesn't make you drool all over your new shirt, then you don't have glands. Egyptian Hip Hop expertly straddle the line between pop and experimentation. They look like they have been dressed by a psychedelic lost property box and their songs have a similar mix and match vibe. It's one hell of a danceable vibe at that! They are interesting to the ears, eyes and even the mouth. Say their name seven times in the mirror and an ancient Pharaoh will leap out and start break dancing to "X Gon' Give It To Ya" by DMX. You'd be a foolish fool from fool town not to wrap your ears around Egyptian Hip Hop and squeeze tight.


www.myspace.com/egyptianhiphop


For Fans Of
Late Of The Pier, Is Tropical, The Cure

BLACK KIDS

Black Kids music should forever be in the pop culture canon. If Champ was president of cultural happenings, then that would be so. Alas, Black Kids only had a brief period of fame and frivolity until they went out of the limelight. So what?!?! They made one of the most perfect alt-pop records in the entire history of forever in the form of "Partie Traumatic". Each song on that belter of a record, is indeed a belter. They weren't afraid to just make great songs, fizzing with the classic conventions of pop. They helped make 2008 a great year for music. Here's the Black Kids formulae: hyperactive synth hooks, jangly guitars, pumping drums, all girl backing vocals, love-lorn lyrics, flexible bass lines and song structures that go from appealing to even more appealing in the space of a minute. At the same time as being impossibly good at pop, they mixed it up a bit. The lyrics are very strange, and just when you think you know what he's singing about, you suddenly don't. Especially when he starts singing about "ghosts in your underwear". For lovers of gloom, or more serious music however, they may well be too much sugar for your sweet tooth. They may well of been made in some grand pop laboratory somewhere...or are they just a dream? A pop mirage? They are too good to be true...

www.myspace.com/blackkidsrock


For Fans Of:

The Drums, Cults, Late Of The Pier

WARM BRAINS

The songs of Warm Brains sound like they can barely contain themselves. Bursting at the seems with lurching guitars, clattering drums and vocal delivery pumped with monotone menace, tracks like "Old Volcanoe" totally rip it up. Rory Attwell is the man with the plan behind it all. He's been a part of great things in the past (Test Icicles, Kasms ETC). He's made a name for himself in terms of forward thinking guitar music. And that doesn't stop with Warm Brains. Warm Brains exists in a different world to Test Icicles however, it has a quieter sense of diversity about it. Where Test Icicles screamed, Warm Brains slur. It all sounds quite unnerving, but in a great way. The punk swagger can't be denied. The nagging guitar lines pull you straight in, the surreal lyrics make you wonder and the wall of sound blast metaphorically punches you in the gut. It's thrilling. Especially if you love yourself some bands like Male Bonding. Listening to Warm Brains is like being scared by a horror film and relishing the feeling.

http://soundcloud.com/warmbrains



For Fans Of:

Male Bonding, Not Cool, Colour

HIGH HIGHS

The world can go by too quickly for a lot of people, take a step back and sit in a chair in a field or something. Then get High Highs on your headphones. This is music made to escape the world to. A delicate blend of warm synths, gentle percussion, echo and luscious melodies make High Highs a truly wonderful band. Don't fear though, they won't send you to sleep, on the contrary, songs like "Flowers Bloom" would be absolutely mouth watering to wake up to. They have already got Champ talking about them as if this is all a chocolate bar advert, you'll be doing the same in no time. High Highs are set to go sky high with their soaring brand of musical musings.


http://www.myspace.com/highhighs


For Fans Of:

Wild Nothing, Cults, Beach Fossils

TIMES NEW VIKING

If you don't know Times New Viking, then who are you? They been representing since 2005. It's OK though, you are still who you are if you don't know them. They pretty much invented the modern D.I.Y punk scene. Bold statement bro. But they pretty much did. By making lo-fi the order of the day in terms of recordings, and pioneering that "hurts so good" sound that hurts your ears but you like it, TNV rocked it all up. Their influence can be heard in awesome bands such as Pens, Mazes, Teeth, Old Blood, Wavves, Vivian Girls ETC. You can't deny the power of that awesome name either, one of the best band names ever. The kind of band name you want to write on a desk to be bad-ass or on your school bag or diary. Their shtick is a shtick you want to get stuck right into. The keyboards are as fuzzy as the guitars and the drums smash each song up like crumbled biscuits. Then you get the slight pop appeal found in the vocals, think great songs being sung by attitude ridden teens while a buzzsaw gets used as an instrument over the top. Each record they put out is another beautiful mess, it induces weeping every time. They are gloriously shabby and they paved the way for everyone else to do the same cool-ass thing. They should have their own font, that's how good they are. CHECK IT.

www.myspace.com/timesnewviking


For Fans Of:

Pens, Old Blood, Wavves

TWIN SISTER

Wouldn't it be awesome to have a twin sister? Don't got one though, do you? BOOM. Here's the next best thing; Twin Sister...the band! Shazayum. This talented grouping of musical people make dreamy pop songs that sound like they were created in another world. A world very much of their own. The vocal delivery is a combination of singing and whispering combined and it's simply gorgeous. Their crafty creations of song will make you want to dance, but only the softest, most lightest dance moves. You migh even start floating, who knows? Dream pop is often thought to be lazy, using effects over skills. Let Twin Sister prove that theory wrong for you. If you combined all their brains together, it would make a giant floating hit maker, popping out dream pop hits every time it breathed. Dream pop is the easiest thing to label Twin Sister with because they make pop songs that float around in a world of their own. But just like the singers voice, the songs have drive as well as daydreaming up their sleeves.

www.myspace.com/twinsisterband


For Fans Of:

Cocteau Twins, Still Corners, Memoryhouse

TUBELORD

It's hard not to fall head over heels for Tubelord, because the band sound like they themselves are falling head over heels. Schizophrenic guitars thunder through double time loud/quiet routines while the drums sound as if they walk all the way up a flight of stairs only to fall back down them again. Then you've got the surreal lyrics being sung to you as if it were all a pop song. In a way it is, because their songs have buckets of appeal. But not in the classic pop song way. Song structures are thrown out the window with Tubelord, replaced by their own take on how songs and the accompanying instrumentals should be done. Tubelord are sweeeeeeeet in the way that they take the aggressive/progressive confusion rock made popular by bands like Biffy Clyro and make it so much more fun to listen to. They add uplifting choruses, danceable shifts in rhythm and imaginative lyrics that spark wonder in the mind instead of dread. As if by magic they make music that is considered pretentious, unpretentious. Tubelord, we salute you.


www.myspace.com/tubelord


For Fans Of:

Blakfish, Biffy Clyro, Tellison

FRENCH KISSING

French Kissing's songs were probably written in their heads whilst they were french kissing with their girl friends. Then they just made them spring to life with chirpy guitars and the soft thud of drums. They sound like an update of all those classic 50s rock'n'roll records that you hear in retro diners. Boy oh boy do they sound fine. Be warned though, you may find yourself bursting into song if they come up on your mp3 shuffle mix, these songs are crafted from the purest feelings of love and happiness. They dig up pure lumps of happiness from the ground, chip bits of it into a milkshake and down it. Then because they are so nice they bury the lumps again and start knocking out songs like "Oh Suzanne" and "You Just Don't Know What Love Is For", just for your enjoyment. This band is so good.


http://www.myspace.com/frenchkissingband

 
For Fans Of:

Black Lips, Smith Westerns, Sex Beet

WEIRD DREAMS

Whats that sound? It sounds like my favourite indie rock records, but like, really WEIRD. You heard right! It's Weird Dreams! Weird Dreams are tearing up the scene right now with their weird version of d.i.y indie pop. Sorry for all those genres, it just makes it easier to visualise. Lets break it down, they have all the classic components that make up a banging d.i.y indie pop band but they twist it a little bit by having some slightly off-kilter guitar sounds, strange lyrics and a general eerie vibe floating over their music. But that doesn't stop it from being super catchy. Weird Dreams are pure listening pleasure. They got the tunes AND the edge. Dream a little dream of them.


www.myspace.com/weirdweirddreams



For Fans Of:

Mazes, Fair Ohs, French Kissing

WIZBIT

Darkness has engulfed the land of electronic music. Sure, we had ourselves a blast with Chillwave, good times aplenty! But nowadays it's dark, sophisticated mood music. Which is also great, but you need the flip side: sugary upbeat gazzilion-bit party music, right? Here is Wizbit, enjoy him, for he is bringing you imaginative, positive, uplifting-ive and down right clever party music using some cool technology. This is no run of your mill "I use a gameboy to make my music" music, nope. This is bleeping good. Hailing from Northampton (represent), the man with the Wizbit plan is a man named Josh. Not content on changing the world with his band The Retro Spankees or kicking behinds with 72% Morrissey, he whizzez around with Wizbit. It's the musical equivalent of downing a six pack of energy drinks. It makes you feel "buzzing" or "hyped". Which bit? Wizbit!


http://www.wizbitmusic.com/


For Fans Of:

Adventure, Daft Punk, Gay Against You

ZOO KID

No one knows sadness like a 16 year old dude, make no mistake. Zoo Kid is a bright hope for 2011, giving off similar vibes as The XX did last year (young tims making mature music). Minimalism and gloom is in, no doubt. Before you get all caught up in the fact that it's all a bit eerie and sad in Zoo Kid's musical map, don't forget how great at guitar the boy is, he can pluck and strum some sweet and sparse melodies like no man's business. Also, the songs are full of atmosphere, emotion and SPARSENESS. Also, he doesn't just do the same shtick in each song, each song is instead a little different than the last. "Out Getting Ribs" is the full on, heart on sleeve guitar pluckin odyssey where as a tune like "A Lizard State" has more attitude and more of a full musical backdrop. The kid's got energy, he's got promise and he's got a knack for that thing they call "music", but has he got you? He will do soon.


http://www.myspace.com/zookid


For Fans Of:

The Streets, The XX, James Blake