Ending the month as we started the year it seems appropriate
to look at what myself and others are tipping right now. In the industry of new music
no-one knows any better than anyone else and the public will decide.
Birmingham
Kodaline are on a high and their hopes (forgive the puns….)
of stardom may be bolstered by this single which is getting additional traction
all over the place. This may be partly due to their BBC Sound Of 2013
nomination but they were also tipped by iTunes, Shazam and MTV, and have had
radio support from Radio 1, the ever-more important Radio 2, Xfm and Absolute.
NME also like them which matters a lot less of course. I find this
inoffensively pretty but unexceptional, I feel that way about most things
though and it’s already on the way to 100,000 YouTube views when it isn’t even
released until March. The YouTube count seems to be the validation championed
by most these days.
In a similar vein Milo Greene’s 1957 reminds me of a dozen
other songs and bands of whom Temper Trap spring most readily to mind. They’re
also heavily tipped, in their case by (amongst others) The Sunday Times
Culture, The Independent, The Sun, Notion, Wonderland, 6 Music and The Guardian
in their New Band of the Day column. Naturally it’s a concern that The Guardian
can find a new band to recommend every day, it speaks volumes about the
problems that the industry has and when they’re recommending so many acts then
given the ‘throwing it at the wall’ theory you’d imagine that some will find
success.
Milo Greene are from LA and have already appeared on David
Letterman, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno. You’d think that this alone puts them at
the head of the pack, we’ll see. Staying on that side of the pond for something
I do like and personally feel stands out, meet Kids These Days
who seem to be fully embracing the freeconomics ethos by allowing you to
download their excellent Traphouse Rock album for free.
This concept is beyond me to an extent, I understand the
reasons for doing it but this is a finely produced, well-crafted piece of work
that combines hip-hop, pop, rock and brass – you really will feel guilty that
you got it for nothing (or maybe that’s just me). Alongside Everything
Everything’s Arc and Biffy Clyro’s Opposites this is the album I’ve listened
most to so far this year – I realise we’re only in Jan btw, that’s the point. Here’s
their website if you want to know more
Ending closer to home and on a mellower note, Ben Drummond
has been knocking around for a while and getting closer to success with each
knock. He’s supporting both Olly Murs and Rod Stewart at the LG Arena this year
and maybe it could be his year.
Ben also hosts an acoustic night on the last Tuesday of
every month at the Jam House in
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