The rising stars of 2010: our picks

Top top tips

The Quality Streets have long since been polished off and our NYE hangovers have just about gone. Yup, it’s time to look ahead at the bands and fads that could be coming our way in the world of music in 2010.

Mitchell Stirling: The Glo-Fi genre

It’s a movement that started to really move into people’s perceptions in early autumn this year but a good, hot summer and a few of these acts putting out full albums could see it build on what’s gone already. There’s also the tantalising prospect of a European response from the likes of Air France who come from a chillier, but similar, place. In a sense, the main players are taking the ’80s revivalism that is shown in acts like Cut Copy, Ladyhawke, La Roux etc but eschewing the high concept glossy finish. There is also a thread running through this scene in that a lot of the material is DIY cassette copies with homemade artwork and small runs. There’s also a sense, with the lo-fi quality of the music that there’s a sense of the not-to-recent, half-remembered August nights on the beach evoked in the dreamy lullabies. It’s also a scene that is unravelling in front of us right now. Best of all, though, it amuses me that Memory Tapes’s ‘Pink Stones’ has a passing resemblance to the outro of Henry’s Cat.

Give these a go… Washed Out, Memory Tapes, Small Black, Toro Y Moi, Neon Indian

Danny Wadeson: More nu-folk and all that jazz

So ends 2009; the year folk revivalists enjoyed plenty of limelight, ‘the year of the Woman’, and the year Mew released their latest album. What glory for 2010? Some stars will definitely shine more brightly than others; in Marina’s case, however, it’s diamonds instead. Delphic’s debut will hit in February, Memory Tapes will play his first set of shows in the UK and now that we’ve revived analogue synths, folk, and lo-fi drone, it only remains for jazz fusion to become trendy again.  In fact, the former I hope to retroactively ring true as soon as possible; the E17 jazz collective deserves far more mainstream attention than it deserves as its cross over potential increases rapidly, Portico Quartet need to be heard by more and hopefully it’ll all lead to an incredible wave of excellent music enjoyable to everyone.

Give these a go… Marina and the Diamonds, Delphic, Portico Quartet

Paul Faller: Only fools and Horses

Musical trends be damned – the one thing I know is that Pulled Apart By Horses are set to rock my world in 2010. And by “rock”, I most definitely mean “rock” – the Leeds four-piece make a raw, visceral, thrilling racket with frankly massive guitar riffs. Po-faced critics will probably label them primitive and sneer at the daft lyrics, but I’m sure the rest of us will be having too much gloriously dumb fun to care. Their debut album is due out early next year and they’ll most likely be touring the hell out of it, so make sure you catch them live – their shows are an absolute riot.

Give them a go… Pulled Apart By Horses

Natalie Shaw: Tips and tips and tips

Want concise tips for 2010? Ok, have these: shrouded-in-mystery Spector-esque amazing pop from Summer Camp, a more metal HEALTH in KNYFE HYTS, Sleigh Bells (who I’ve already written about here), my new favourite Canadian slowcore band The Wilderness Of Manitoba, of course stompy guitar purveyors Frankie & the Heartstrings, the most excellent Cats and Cats and Cats (who Muso’s Guide are in fact putting on on January 20th – tickets available here), she-who-needs-no-introduction Ellie Goulding and An Horse, who I’m probably way late to the party on but produce astoundingly simple, loose garagey greatness. And of course Field Music’s third album is going to make them absolutely massive in a sane world. I’m not sure what ‘tips’ actually means and I’m not sure whether any of these are going to truly hit the blogs, your ears, your local venue, your purse or whatever else you’d measure a tip’s success by, but what I can tell you is that they’re all absolutely brilliant and well-worthy of a listen.

Give these a go… Summer Camp, KNYFE HYTS, Sleigh Bells, The Wilderness of Manitoba, Cats and Cats and Cats, Frankie & The Heartstrings, Ellie Goulding, An Horse, Field Music

Catherine Wilson: A certain bromance

This time last year, I was all about the girls, but with a new decade comes an about turn – the boys are bringing it back. My affection for Male Bonding knows no bounds; everything about them appeals to me. I’d been waiting in earnest for grunge to make some sort of comeback, along with other recent ’90s throwbacks, but I don’t think it has quite happened yet. I first spotted these guys supporting Vivian Girls last spring, and totally fell for their scuzzy punk-pop. I love the noise and the fuzz made by a simple trio set-up; what makes this better than average are the mega choruses swaddled just beneath cathedral-sized reverb,  massively catchy guitar hooks and dots of clunky cowbells (listen to ‘Pumpkin’). Although the buzz is largely confined to dingy backstreet bars in East London at the minute, expect it to ripple far and wide in 2010.

Give this a go… Male Bonding