Eighteen Nightmares at the Lux - 6ft 6

Imagine. You're banging the side of a metal dustbin with a dry bone that's half full of tanned but frowning Stooges dolls made by Mattel...whilst riding naked on ghost train.
  Links:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/31/eighteen-nightmares-at-the-lux

The Mispers - Brother

Take 1 part folk-punk with 2 parts alt-rock and more than a dash of singer-songwriter acoustic, distil down into a balsamic and pour slowly over a young London poet and his indie guitar band.
Bouncing, shout-along choruses sure to set the right tempo with stage-front audiences across the land. Very exciting.

Links:
Steve Lamacq Roundtable BBC6
themispers.com

Eliza and the Bear - It Gets Cold

Tie-up the vocal interplay of Vampire Weekend and the arena-folk sensibilities of Mumford and Sons. Very rousing. Worth a listen.

Link: http://amazingradio.com/tipsfor2014

SOHN - Tempest (Unplugged at Casino Baumgarten, Vienna)

Haunting. An impressive showcase of this electronic producer's raw talent. Hanging around on the periphery last year. Should be upfront and centre in 2014.



Links:
http://youtu.be/UlLJcbK7Xiw
https://soundcloud.com/sohnmusic

CHVRCHES - Bela Lugosi's Dead (Bauhaus cover)

Upcoming teen vampire movie 'Vampire Academy' has commissioned this old Bauhaus favourite. Not a bad cover and the tie-up with Chvrches feels right however the mood of the original isn't fully conveyed by Miss Mayberry. Will ultimately be popular with many though.


Links: http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/chvrches-to-cover-bauhaus-for-new-movie-soundtrack-144230

Vancouver Sleep Clinic - Collapse

Aussie Tim Bettinson wants to fill your bedroom up with his boom and whirr but leave a small airpocket for his layered, introverted falsetto (somewhere over by the wardrobe).


Links: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/24/vancouver-sleep-clinic

Girl Band - Lawman

Irascibly stomping the ooze out of an early Nokia inside a huge pillow-shaped fuzz pedal. Lo-fi triumph. Girl Band. More oxymorons coming from this Irish four-piece soon.

Link: http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-radar/buzz-playlist-of-the-week-hear-18-brand-new-tracks

The Revered - Why I Feel This Way

Full disclosure time - the band are friends of a friend. However I still feel compelled to write a post.
The melodic, pop-perfect songwriting of this six-piece reminds me of early Nineties International Rock like Crowded House or REM. With the recent success of The 1975 pulling along a similar format, some will be ready to dance in their skinny jeans and blazers. Worth a listen.

Lê Almeida - Deni

Brazilian Indie Guitar Pop. Yep. That pretty much sums it up. Paul Lester's Band Of The Day. The track chugs and buzzes alongside Lê Almeida's squashed em português squeak.

Great Ytene - Away For Now

Woozy, looping rhythm, glimmering riffs, wide, open-space production and back-of-the-room flickering vox makes this a total psych pleasure. Let's all wish for a Hazy Summer Of Love 2014.

Arc Iris - Singing So Sweetly

Ex-Low Anthem, Jocie Adams, tears up this mute-trumpeted cabaret-pop swing around. Kooky lyrics and a sense of the dramatic makes this an alternative radio-friendly single. Very much looking forward to the album.

Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots

Unmistakably Albarn, observing and reporting on our world with a certain tiredness on this track.

Simian Ghost - A Million Shining Colours

Seriously - what is going on in Sweden at the moment? They are everywhere!
Anyhoo - this is a slice of warm, sunny, slightly-woozy indie-pop. Lovely.
 

Freschard - Boom Biddy Boom

The folk-pop chanteuse returns with this whimsical, almost-funk. Crying out for a dance-floor edit.

The Wolfhounds - Anthem / Middle-Aged Freak

Dad's-Garage-based simmering vitriol from the well-produced, well turned-out and well-worn champions of indie noise. Flip this double-A for more visceral adolescence in 'Middle-Aged Freak'.
 

Fat White Family - Wet Hot Beef Parts 1,2 & 3

"Dirty, staggering, unconventional - like a less-than-ideal uncle. (Note: keep listening until the end if you can)."
 

Skaters - Miss Teen Massachusetts

"Worthy of note above the multitudinous indie-fuzz masses combining both Strokes-swagger and an ear for a hooky chorus."

September Girls - Ships

"Like Savages with flowers in their hair."

St. Vincent - Digital Witness

"Just read about her love of metal (genre not material). That's lovely isn't it. Nice horns on this track though."

Tom The Lion - Sleep

"Another one-man band and obviously a massive talent. Flowing, layered, thoughtful."

Public Access TV - Monaco

"Sunshine OJ mixed with London Jam. That's quite a breakfast."

Mutual Benefit - Lets Play

"Gentle, bucolic, deep, nice."

Courtney Barnett - History Eraser

"Classic personal storytelling with punk undertones from this Aussie stand-up songstress."

Todd Terje - Strandbar (Disko Version)

This 'disko' edit removes the Samba from the head track and still pops about all over the happy, flashing dancefloor.

Laurel - Fire Breather

"Her chief influences are published as Britney Spears and Laura Marling and that does place her sound well. The folkie-pop-electronica lead track "Fire Breather" is well timed with the likes of Lorde out-and-about."

Cymbals - Winter '98

"Inhabits the strange, increasing populated land between indie-jangle and EDM. Can't tell whether the arty-farty dimension is too forced but can imagine the indie kids having a whale of a time on the dancefloor."

Watchlist - Dec 2013

Rad Frü - Tempting Meat

Too kool 4 skool

Royal Blood - Out Of the Black

Feels like 2014 needs a bit of this. DIY, dirty, post-hardcore, Alt-J's ADHD second-cousin. Album #2 will be disappointing though I expect.

Slaves - Where's Your Car, Debbie

Debbie is sing-a-long-a-classic for sweaty festival tents. Low-quality idiot-rock for high-quality rock-idiots. Brilliant.