Let Music hold your hand and guide you gently through the approaching waves and torrents of up-and-coming new bands.

Charli XCX


Charli XCX describes herself as a gothic-electro-pop star, though actually she is more like Two Door Cinema Club meets Visage: her music is very much a 1980s throwback – not a bad thing, of course. Her latest single "Nuclear Seasons" is very reminiscent of Talking Heads or the Human League, and also critically acclaimed. With the growing cult following she's accumulating, she seems sure to to influence the music scene in 2012.
Daniel Swain

Balam Acab


A front-runner of the Witch-House renaissance of 2011, Balam Acab is the musical project of 20-year-old Pennsylvanian Alec Koone. His debut album Wander/Wonder was released last year and is an ambient masterpiece that included tracks like the soul-soothing “Oh, Why”. If this debut album is anything to go by, then 2012 will most surely bring a tide of success for the young American producer.
Max Sanderson

MMOTHS


2011 saw 17-year-old Jack Colleran, a.k.a. MMOTHS, take his stockpile of astral tracks from his bedroom, in rural Ireland, to the offices of a major record label in Los Angeles. His delicate arrangements, coming fully saturated in a flock of organic synths like those that flood the stunning “Heart”, exude an allure and charm that is sure to bring him big things in 2012.
Max Sanderson

2:54


Restrictive, seductive, and utterly alluring, sister duo 2:54 offer macabre XX-style dirges, laced with frenetic riffs and claustrophobic clangs. Current single “Scarlet” is a Machiavellian maelstrom of sincerity, sass and a subtle degree of peril. Bleak they may be, but 2:54 are also ridiculously infectious.
Geraint Ellis

Poliça


Affiliated with alternative super-group Gayngs (alongside Har Mar Superstar, Justin Vernon, members of Doomtree, among others), Poliça possess dreamy echoing female vocals and powerful percussion (from two drummers) that manage to both contrast and compliment each other perfectly. Debut Give Up the Ghost deserves to bring them the success of their already successful peers.
Sarah Timmins

Black Spiders


With the new generation of British rock music lacking that one huge band to lead them into the promised land, Black Spiders have emerged. Last year’s storming debut album St Peter ticked all the right boxes: it is surely only a matter of time before this group makes the step up.
Stuart Iverson

King Krule


Seventeen year old Archy Marshall captures angst, disillusionment and the essence of cynical youth in beautifully succinct and sparse tracks. His drip-fed tracks continue to astound; “Out Getting Ribs” is off-kilter electric fuzz, delivered with a resonant snarl belying his disconcertingly tender years. Fusing his rockabilly roots to intelligent Jamie T wit, King Krule will be the standard on which this year’s singer-songwriters will be judged. Only the best will come close.
Geraint Ellis

Theme Park


Fresh off the back of supporting Bombay Bicycle Club on their latest UK tour, the hype surrounding this London four piece – including twin brothers Miles and Marcus Haughton – has been growing exponentially of late. Comparisons to Talking Heads have been numerous but tracks like “Wax” showcase their exceptional writing abilities and a sound that is very much their own.
Max Sanderson

Vintage Trouble


With their second album due out in a few months, it seems a good time for these LA rockers to bring rock‘n’roll back to the mainstream. The smooth vocals of Ty Taylor and the swagger of a band who know they are on to something good make them well worth checking out.
Niall Carville

The-Dream


Acclaimed songwriter and reluctant genius The-Dream will release his fourth studio album later this year – and it’s going to be incredible. As a consistent game changer and rule breaker in R&B, The-Dream delights in ambition and invention, and it is expected that The Love IV: Diary of A Madman will take the sexiness, slickness and moody ambience of his previous work and turn it up to eleven. The fact is he could well be our generation’s Prince. So pay attention.
Jack Murray

Real Estate


This five piece indie outfit from the Jersey suburbs will place you in a pleasant trance with their soft-spoken melodies and unassuming hooks. A lullaby of nostalgia, you’ll feel gently inebriated by their tunes. Their characteristic warm beach tones and whimsical tales of first world problems make them an easy bunch to love. Catch them at The Arches in Glasgow on February 18 – their London date is long since sold out.
Daniel Greenford

The History of Apple Pie


Lo-fi and wide-eyed, The History of Apple Pie are five young merchants of Yuck-esque distorted, scuzzy guitars, topped with dreamy slurs of winsomely romantic lyrics. Though clutching only a tiny fistful of singles - on the woozy recollections of misspent days offered in "Mallory" and "You’re So Cool" - this band could be the providers of blissful summer anthems all year long.
Geraint Ellis