It’s January, so as usual there’s loads of great new music floating about as everyone vies to be the next big ‘ones to watch’ for 2014.
Here’s seven of the best new bands to have popped up on my radar in the past week or so, let me know who your favourite is in the comments at the bottom.
Also, if you know of a cool new band who deserves a bit more attention then let me know on [email protected]
Menace Beach – ‘Fortune Teller’
If any new band has the credentials to succeed then it’s Leeds’ Menace Beach, the two-piece of Ryan Needham and Liza Violet who rose from the ashes of almost-successful mid-Naughties band Komakino and have got Hookworms’ Matt ‘MJ’ Johnson and Pulled Apart By Horses’ Rob Lee involved – as well as former Mansun front-man Paul Draper.
‘Fortune Teller’ is taken from their debut EP ‘Lowtalker’ – which is amazing if you like dreamy, fuzzy, escapist psych-rock, which everyone seems to love at the minute.
Skaters – ‘Miss Teen Massachusetts’
New York band Skaters have been going from strength to strength since I first featured them last March. They’re now readying their debut LP Manhatten for release on 24 February (via Warner Records) and have preceded it with new single ‘Miss Teen Massachusetts’. Sounding like a cross between The Strokes and Cage The Elephant its perhaps the best thing Skaters have done yet.
LVLS – ‘Echoes’
Another band going from strength to strength and looking set for big things is Manchester’s LVLS (or Loveless if you prefer). As the name suggests they wear their MBV influences on their sleeves, but there’s more to LVLS than simple nostalgic pastiche. ‘Echoes’ is a gloriously sprawling and epic track with a spine-tingling guitar line. It’s taken from their new EP ‘Teenager’, which you can buy here for £3.
Girl Band – ‘Lawman’
Ironically-named all-male Irish group Girl Band are getting a lot of press attention at the minute. They’ve got a loud and noisy DIY attitude which, on new single ‘Lawman’, comes across as charming and experimental. If you’re the kind of music fan who likes comparisons, then think !!! and maybe Liars.
‘Lawman’ is now available as a free download from here
Fickle Friends – ‘SWIM’
Fickle Friends are a new five-piece band from Brighton who, as per their upbeat and catchy debut single ‘SWIM’, quite like Passion Pit. If you’re looking for some infectious and bouncy pop to chase away the January blues then look no further than this to cheer you up.
Half Loon – ‘Reverie’
Psych-rock is everywhere right now, with the new ‘psychwave’ expected to take over guitar music in the next couple of years. A lot of it out there is pretty derivative, uninspiring stuff to be honest, but new London five-piece Half Loon are providing the blueprint for the rest. To succeed as a psych-rock band you have to commit to it, which means tracks dominated by spiralling groove-based wig outs. If their track ‘Reverie’ doesn’t suck you into the psych-rock movement then I’m afraid it’s just not for you.
