New Bands ’07

Tara Shaw, SonyBMG A&R by day & indie-scenester connoisseur by night
The Young Hearts are set to do great things to the indie-pop scene in 2007 with their enthusiasum for good music and great charisma. Think Magic Numbers meets The Feeling – but far cooler and not as fat or gay. Enter Shikari – who in their right mind wouldn’t mention this shit hot mental electro-screamo band from St.Albans? Get into this or be prepared to get cussed at school.
An ex-junkie from LA – skinny, stinky and not fit, Mickey Avalon is sure to be one of the most discovered artist of 2007. Fun white hip-hop a la Beastie Boys crossed with punk a la Iggy Pop. Selling out shows with no promotion stateside, he’s currently taking NYC by storm and the UK is next on his list.
Birthday Massacre are an interseting band from Canada with a huge underground following……think Evanesance-Goth-Emo with an 80′s twist look and pretty front girl, whilst Go:Audio will be the UK competition to our familiar local indie-scenester bands with their punk-poptastic hits that sound like rivals The Killers and My Chemical Romance.
Lastly, I’m sure it won’t be long until Kid Harpoon is on the wall of every scenster’s bedroom…. He has charmed his way through most of North London with his adorable kind nature and effortless guitar talent.

Seb Tapedeck from BOSH!
“If what people are getting into on the dancefloor is anything to go by it should be a big year for Ed Banger producer SebastiAn. His new track ‘Walkman’ is extreme and cut up – he’s innovating like the best US hip hop producers. Likewise fellow Frenchman Surkin on fellow Paris label Institubes. His last 12” ‘Radio Fireworks’ is sonic shock and awe. In terms of bands, I love Late Of The Pier – they use old analogue synths the lead singer Sams’ Dad handed them down and take sonic risks. Also look out for the well young (like 16) Burmese Days. They wear bow ties, are named after a George Orwell novel and are Television meets teenage English romantic poets. Go to www.myspace.com/burmesedaysuk and listen to ‘Telephone’. Finally watch out for 19-year-old Kate Nash – instinctive pop melody and lyrical attitude pour out of her. She has spent time in the studio with studio-whizz Metronomy at the end of 06- the results are some of the most innovative stuff you’ll hear in 07.”

Daniel Lloyd-Jones, Club Promoter – Another Music = Another Kitchen
We have had the pleasure of hosting some of the big hitters for 2007 at our club, The Twang and The Enemy I truly believe are going to bring back some brash attitude, quality music, and rawkous live shows. They are top lads who were born to get on it.  We hosted Hadouken!’s first London gig @ Proud  and it was absolutely rammed their following on my space has gone through the roof, nu – grime has never sounded so good!, Gallows and Haunts are bringing intensity back to rock, with no holds barred live shows. Look out for Dangermouse’s new project Underground Animals, expect more mad collabarations and massive global hits. Bobby Cook is another one to watch, the singer who comes from west London who lies somewhere between Jeff Buckley, Echo and The Bunnymen and Edwin Collins is likely to cause a stir with his emotive soundscapes.

Nadia Dahlawi – Young & Lost Club
I think 2007 is going to be a really exciting year, although I think it’s a shame that in rebellion against all the cool artistic bands there are so many appalling “lad / pub rock” bands rising up.  Due to Myspace bands appear almost out of nowhere, they seem to form overnight.  One such band is Pull Tiger Tail, they played their first gig at our club in March and then went on to release their debut single in September on Young & Lost which sold out in 1 week!  Some other new bands I think will do great things next year are Late Of The Pier, Friends of The Bride and Fear of Flying.  There are also a lot of brilliant solo artists at the moment, for example King Charles, Bobby Cook, Nat Jennkins.  My absolute favourite acoustic artist Johnny Flynn, is releasing his debut single on Young & Lost Club records in February.  For a different take on  the solo artist form, check out Lets Bitter Cinema, he is more like a one-man band.  My last tip, the band I would most like to see succeed in 2007 is definitely Xerox Teens.

James Sandom, Kaiser Chiefs manager
I’ve never really been one for scenes, Detroit, Leeds, the Midlands? I find it odd that artists who have nothing in common other than geography suddenly get bracketed together. There’s a few from the Midlands right now set to break in 2007 and they couldn’t be less alike. Ripchord are signed to 1965, and have the early 60′s beatpop sound nailed to a tee. It’s perfect pop music. Could even set off a Housemartins revival. The Twang will get loads of attention whether we like it or not. They’ll divide people, think Flowered Up or the Mondays around ‘Bummed’. Live it’s a bit like watching Oasis on a Club 18-30 holiday. The kids will lap it up.
Outside Brumsville there’s Los Campesinos! from Wales. Just signed to Wichita, amazing trashy pop sounds recalling Comet Gain, late 80s Sonic Youth. Over in America, Human Television from New York and the remarkably named Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin both tap into the early 90′s Creation sound. Human Television sound a lot like Ride playing the songs of The Lovin Spoonful, and that’s a very good thing. Annuals, signed in US to the hip Ace-Fu label have UK A&R in a tailspin and their debut record is topping many year end press polls in America. Singer-songwriters, a much maligned genre not helped in recent years by James’s Blunt and Morrisson, but in 2007 Richard Swift and David Vanderslice are set to put this straight.
Finally, remember New Rave? Enter Shikari have one foot in that ocean (some tracks of theirs could easily be Underworld) and one foot in pedal-to-the-metal Hardcore. They’ve arrived at the tailend of 2006 like a giant pac-man swallowing New Rave whole. 2007 will be theirs for the taking.

David Mogendorff, MTV2 and Adventures Close To Home guru…
Next year’s all about FUN, if you ask me.  Obvious big new band tip for 2007 has to be The Twang – throwing together elements of the best British lad-bands of all time, they’re going to be everywhere and the hit of the festivals, alongside Cold War Kids who have made one of the best debut albums of recent years, but you knew that already… The resurgence of crossover dance music will continue apace with the much awaited Justice album and a swarm of others: Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Puzique, South Central, Buraka Som Sistema, Shadow Dancer, Les Petit Pilous, Free Blood, Aysam, and Theatre of Disco being some of my favourites.  And some more names: Friendly Fires, These New Puritans, Adele, Team Turnip, Foals, David Sugar, Holy Hail, Gallows, Fujiya and Miyagi, Kid Sister, Fear of Flying, Turbowolf…

John Kennedy, XFM Xposure’s new band King
Crystal balls confuse with their cloudy visions – the most exciting things about any year are those we don’t expect, but my musical hopes and expectations for 2007 are very high! Singer songwriters with wit, verve, vision and style – Kate Nash, Jack Penate, and Mr Hudson all set for a great year. Dance resurgence gaining more momentum from Ed Banger and Kitsune through to Kissy Sellout, IDC, South Central, Switch, Herve, Sinden and more. Together going from strength to strength. Great new albums from LCD Soundsystem, Willy Mason, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Patrick Wolf, MIA, Arcade Fire and Bloc Party. Dubstep overground. The first of many (!) X-Posure Live tours. Amazing debuts from Klaxons, Dartz!, Jamie T and Good Shoes. The Remedy at The Social. Plaid, lumberjack and check. Brum beat explosion. An even better Great Escape. Hadouken, The Special Relationship, To My Boy, These New Puritans, Xerox Teens, Blood Red Shoes, Fields, Good Books, Situationists, Dananananaykroyd, The Answering Machine and Navvy. And last but by no means least – 10 years of Xfm!

Ruth Drake, Press Officer to Klaxons, Good Shoes, The Maccabees & The Streets
Apart from all the amazing new bands we are working on already  – Enter shikari, Maccabees, Klaxons, Good Shoes, Crystal Castles, Does It Offend You, Yeah? simian mobile disco, uffie, new young pony club and hadouken – next year I’m looking forward to hearing music from jape, who makes amazing folk blues sonmgs over music somewhere between Daft Punk, Beck and Aphex Twin. There’s the smokey jazz soul of Adele on XL, the electronic math rock punk of the Teenagers, jack penate’s joyful folk soul pop hybrid, melbourne’s supa noisy new wave band damn arms’ and more hardcore spitting from JME, who has to be the best UK MC out there right now.

Tim Perry, Promoter at South London’s best venue, The Windmill
My favourite band in the world right now are Hockey Night from Minneapolis who are in the process of signing with an uber-cool indie label.  Jerky rock rhythms intermingled with muscular riffs is what they do and they do it better than any of the latest wave of goofy, jerky US rock-dance bands. By summer 2007 every night will be a hockey night. 
Originally from Belfast, but now based in London, V//Formation have their second single released in January on Double Dragon and they make a great wall of sound while Roland Shanks keep getting edgier and they’re too good to be ignored. My Sad Captains have acquired a pop sensibility that should propel their slacker sound toward wider recognition this year. The Tailors also do the melody thing so good and their debut album comes out in March on Trash Aesthetics. And watch out for The Metros on 1965 Records.

Laura Martin
Biggest new band for next year? The Rumble Strips? They have a totally unique and absolutely huge sound, which has the potential to appeal to a huge and varied audience. Their song writing is outstanding. Cold War kids will blow up – pure talent from west coast America. Such emotive, raw songs. Brilliant live too. Foals are a massively exciting new band. Their live show is explosive and their musicianship is highly intricate. They make music to dance to – guitars like flies, insane melodies, hugely harmonic. They’re a new  breed. FrYars is an 18 year old kid with the voice of a 40 year old. How someone that young can write such emotive, skilled songs is genuinely remarkable. I really like The Little Ones, from LA – and new band Scanners have an amazing track, ‘Low Life’. I played it out last week and three people asked me what it was, so it must be good…

Andy Inglis, Director at The Luminaire, previous winner of Time Out’s Venue Of The Year
Another year, another aural barrage of absolute rubbish from the peddlers of derivative indie-rock-by-numbers. So, by way of contrast, here’s a list of bands who’re actually talented:
John et Jehn (intense, French boy-girl / guitar-vs-Farfisa and Moog duelling. A less moody Sons & Daughters, maybe, but with more musical invention and plenty nods toward Gainsbourg), Future of The Left (Mclusky, singer/guitarist Andy Falkous and drummer Jack Egglestone, along with Jarcrew’s singer/bassist Kelson Matthias, form like Voltron to create an incendiary punk behemoth), Infants (Japanese/Norwegian/English ensemble ejecting destructive noise pop, twisted around an imaginative, cerebal core) The Low Lows (climactic, stomping country feedback and radiant Southern dissonance, drenched in feedback) and finally, Asobi Seksu (colossal walls of guitars punctured by soaring, heart-shattering vocals). If they ever get their arses over here from Brooklyn they’ll trounce the opposition with one hand tied behind their backs and the other flicking a V sign.

Andy Burrows, drummer in Razorlight
They’re not exactly a brand new band as they’ve had two albums out, but I think Tilly & The Wall are great. I’d love to have them support us on our next tour, although I’m not sure they’d do it. They have a tap dancer in the band, maybe we could get some tap in our songs, I’d love to hear ‘America’ with jazz hands! They definitely deserve to be heard by lots of people this year. There’s a young band from London called The Mescalitas who are great fun, they make shouty rock’n’roll and they’ve got a great punky attitude. I know everyone else has probably said them, but I think Cold War Kids will be big this year, that single they’ve got out at the moment (‘We Used To Vacation’) is great and the singer has a really unique, distinctive voice. Captain Phoenix make sweet pop songs, and I wanna check out Tiny Dancers as they’re named after my favourite song from the 70s.