Flashguns – The ridiculously youthful Flashguns possess the kind of precocity which can prove an irritant to those of us lacking in the youth, talent and vigour that they exhibit. Based in Brighton and formed at boarding school they won’t win many fans with the lad rock crowd, however their canon of intelligently written and emotive Smiths-esque songcraft will leave anyone harking back to the golden age of literate indie panting with delight. In ‘St George’ and ‘Good Witch Bad Witch’ these Brighton based juveniles already possess two potentially classic singles.
The Joy Formidable – Formed from the ashes of also-ran electronic popsters Sidecar Kisses, The Joy Formidable blend the space pop influences of Mercury Rev and The Breeders with a style and immediacy best exhibited by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Hailing from the less than famous musical mecca of Mold in north Wales they have decamped to the big smoke and now have an NME Awards show on the schedule and a mini album set for release towards the end of this month. I expect packed tents aplenty at this summer’s festivals for the sweetest kind of squawl you are ever likely to hear.
Delphic & Everything Everything – Manchester has continued to produce exciting musical offerings despite its 80s and 90s heyday being way behind it. The more mainstream acts of recent years have been decidedly mediocre (The Courteneers, Ting Tings) but bubbling under have been interesting bands such as Working For A Nuclear Free City and The Longcut, and there are two new additions to be made to this list. Delphic sound like New Order remixed by Orbital, all bleeps, glitches and huge choruses. They have the potential to be huge on both the indie and dance scenes and should have the world at their feet very soon.
Everything Everything are slightly less likely to be filling arenas this time next year but their brand of future facing and wildly varying guitar pop music calls to mind now defunct Sunderland alt pop geniuses Field Music, Doves and Talking Heads. They are clearly wildly talented and have an incredibly eclectic musical palette; listen to recent single ‘Suffragette Suffragette’ for an illustration.