Here we go, here we go, here we go! Nicky Thompson Quartey lines up ten of the top new acts to brighten the adbreaks over the last few weeks. Some of them you may never have heard of before - and, if we're brutally honest, you may never hear of again. But others may well be on their way to becoming household names. In which case please don't forget where you read about them first! In adbreakanthems, of course.
Dexters
Artist: Dexters
Title: I’ll Never Find Another You
Record Company: A&G Records
Brand: The Sun
After being thrown out of a night club one evening Tom Rowlett told Dexter, the bouncer, that he would name his band after him if he gave him a second chance. Dexter obliged and coincidently was fired soon after... but at least the front-man kept his promise! Described by NME magazine as "brash guitar anthemia of the very highest order", Dexters has already racked up numerous tours with The Enemy and Happy Mondays. The laddish East Londoners pride themselves on making unabashed British music and reckon they would have been even more popular in the Britpop-obsessed 90s. It doesn’t get more British than The Sun and the band’s punky, anthemic take on The Seekers 1967 chart-topper I’ll Never Find Another You was a pretty neat choice for the tabloid’s World Cup campaign. The pity was that it didn’t last a little longer!
Artist Website: http://www.dextersband.co.uk/
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/dextersband
Ugly Duckling
Title: A Little Samba
Record Company: XL
Brand: Visa
It’s official: the 1990s are back. To be fair, this South Californian trio were rocking the retro way back when it wasn’t even cool. MCs Dizzy Dustin, Young Einstein and Andy Cat churn out turntable-bait funk samples that saw bands like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest legitimise the hip hop genre. Ugly Duckling came up with their name after feeling like outcastes on the gangsta rap dominated West Coast. Their featured track, A Little Samba didn’t exactly ignite the charts when it first entered back in 2003. Now with 90s nostalgia well under way maybe appears the world is ready to give this throwback band a second chance.
Artist Website: http://www.uglyduckling.us/
Social Media: https://twitter.com/UglyDuckling
Mac DeMarco
Title: Salad Days
Record Company: Captured tracks
Brand: Etsy
Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, dedicated nudist... Mac DeMarco has the entire package – and we’re not just talking about the one he displayed on stage during Montreal’s Walter TV gig. You would never know from the sound of Salad Days what an eccentric Mr DeMarco is. He originally began writing songs as a joke but by the time his sophomore album 2 was voted ‘best new music’ by Pitchfork magazine it was clear this Canadian rock-and-roller was all in. DeMarco has garnered attention for his wicked sense of humour and on-stage antics that include stripping bare naked and stuffing drum sticks up his you-know-where... Salad Days comes from the new album of the same name which remains his highest charting in the US to date.
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mac-DeMarco/301768729858252
Alice Boman
Title: Skiss 3
Record Company: The Control Group
Brand: Clydesdale Bank
Swedish for ’sketch 3’, this featured track for Clydesdale Bank hails from a compilation of Boman’s personal home recordings. Appropriately titled Skisser, the album was never meant for public domain. That is, until it fell on the ears of bosses at Adrian Recordings who gave the record an immediate vinyl release. Dubbed the “new Nina Simone”, Alice Boman has received praise from the likes of The Guardian for the nostalgic intimacy of her vocal styling. Indeed her recordings are evocative of those classic sentimental sides from the 1950s, where her voice has been carefully placed on top of an instrumental but with the production aesthetics of contemporaries like Perfume Genius. Boman’s II EP contains similar sketches and was distributed earlier this year by Happy Death records
Artist Website: http://adrianrecordings.com/artists/alice-boman/
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alice-Boman/522856994416142
Temples
Title: Keep In The Dark
Record Company: Heavenly - [PIAS]
Brand: Strongbow
It’s baffling that Noel Gallagher has had to call out BBC Radio 1 for depriving the “best band in Britain” the airplay they deserve. Perhaps it’s too soon for such a throwback act. Indeed, the ambient vocals and jangly guitar riffs of Keep In The Dark wouldn’t be too out of place on a Beach Boys album. Since signing to Heavenly, Temples have managed to retain a considerable amount of creative control. All releases so far have been produced by front-man James Bagshaw. Currently touring their debut album Sun Structures, this TV spot is sure to prick up the ears of those recalcitrant Radio 1 DJs before too long.
Artist Website: http://templestheband.com/
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/templesofficial
Lily Juniper
Title: True Colors
Record Company: Flock Music
Brand: Sky Movies HD
Question: how do you do a decent rendition of a song that’s been covered to death since its original outing nearly 30 years ago? Answer: you get Lily Juniper on vocals. After listening to this umpteenth version of Cyndi Lauper’s classic, it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that 17-year-old Lily Juniper cites Kate Bush as an influence – those familiar inflections are to be heard dripping through every note. Juniper joins the ranks of other BRIT school graduates such as Adele and Amy Winehouse and with such a pure, scintillating voice must be favourite to follow in their footsteps. True Colours fits nicely into the current craze of 80s-pop-to-folk adaptations, proving that this teenage songstress has all the prowess of a fully fledged diva.
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/lilyjunipermusic
Lena
Title: Stardust
Record Company: Universal
Brand: ITV
Let’s be honest, there has always been a considerable amount of stigma attached to the Eurovision Song Contest. Accusations of ‘naff’ and ‘cheesy’ get mentioned within the same breath almost as a reflex reaction. However, Lena commences the line of newcomers who are slowly but surely bringing some much needed credibility to Europe’s biggest competition. The 2010 champion has made great strides since her winning single, Satellite went double platinum. Already, she has received multiple accolades, including four MTV Europe Award trophies, and broke records in Germany by having three songs in the top five singles chart. Her ITV featured track Stardust hails from the 2012 album of the same name and seems to have outlived its Eurovision novelty.
Artist Website: http://www.lena-meyer-landrut.de/en/
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/lenameyerlandrut
Widowspeak
Title: Fir Coat
Record Company: Captured Tracks
Brand: TK Maxx
Since their debut self-titled album first hit record shop shelves back in 2011, Widowspeak have toured extensively and their well received live performances prompted Fuse TV to list them among top 30 must-see acts at this year’s prestigious SXSW festival. The dynamic duo are renowned for a sound they call “cowboy grunge” which has not surprisingly perhaps garnered high praise from the BBC 6 Music crew. Fir Coat was be heard in the most recent TK Maxx ad campaign, but these New Yorkers are not exactly sync virgins. Fans will recall being introduced to the band when their single Harsh Realm featured in US television series American Horror Story. Striking lucky for the second time with this TV spot it may not be long before Widowspeak turn into chart contenders.
Artist Website: http://widowspeak.bandcamp.com/
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/widowspeakband
East India Youth
Title: Looking For Someone
Record Company: Stolen Recordings
Brand: ITV
In an interview with online music magazine Quietus, electronic artist William Doyle admitted he had between approached by several record labels but kept mum about which ones. The magazine’s editors were so in awe of Doyle’s sound that they created Stolen Recordings just to sign him up themselves. Going under the stage name of East India Youth, our man is happy to admit that his dance music credentials are limited and that his roots lie in the Indie Rock of his now defunct debut band Doyle & the Fourfathers. They received significant amounts of airplay on BBC Radio 6 and even toured with the Undertones but Doyle grew tired of guitar music and soon found inspiration in his digital synthesiser. Not long after, his debut Hostel EP would garner so much praise he had to hurry the release of an album follow-up Total Strife Forever to capitalise on its success. The record includes this month’s featured track and was dubbed "the first masterpiece of 2014" by The Sunday Times.
Artist Website: http://eastindiayouth.co.uk/
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/eastindiayouth
Lucy Spraggan
Title: Lighthouse
Record Company: Sony
Brand: Morrisons
When Lucy Spraggan bowed out of the X Factor semi finals back in 2012 the PR statement claimed “severe illness”. However, many speculated the departure was due to unexpected pre-victory success. There seems to be some merit to that claim. While she was still in the competition her self-released Top Room at the Zoo had already entered the UK chart at Number 22, directly contradicting against X Factor rules. Consequently, the album was quickly pulled from sale by show bosses. After all, we can’t have our young and talented contestants exposing how pointless this competition is, can we? Thankfully, Spraggan hasn’t lost any momentum since she first charmed the judging panel with her witty lyrics. Join the Club – which includes the track featured in this recent Morrisons ad – peaked at number 7 in the UK charts and retains all the familiar blends of acoustic, folk and hip hop. Spraggan has coined the phrase ‘A-Flop’ to describe her sound. Somewhere in there is a cruel pun that evidently won’t be used any time soon.
Artist Website: http://www.lucyspraggan.com/
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/lucyspraggan
