Bands to Watch in 2010

This week, I thought I'd take a look at some of the hottest bands that are currently bubbling under the surface looking to break big in the New Year. In no particular order, here are my tips for 2010.

The Sound Of Arrows
They should really prefix their name The Epic Sound Of Arrows. Quite simply this duo, pictured above, makes the music of the Gods, huge sweeping soundscapes, beamed from the heavens, making the listener feel like they're eavesdropping on a conversation between deities. Either that or they sound like an updated version of Pet Shop Boys.
www.myspace.com/thesoundofarrows

Free Energy
Introduced to me as a cross between The Hold Steady, Weezer and Primal Scream, Free Energy (left) ticks a lot of my boxes. Hailing from Philadephia, they have the bluesy frat-boy stoner sound of early Weezer, with combinations of the dancier elements of Primal Scream with the chest-pounding Springsteen-isms of The Hold Steady. Plus they look like the bastard children of The Strokes, so it's very difficult to see how they can fail.
www.myspace.com/freeenergymusic

Ellie Goulding
Already hailed on the blogsphere, 2010 will see Ellie Goulding break into the mainstream. Her track Under The Sheets has won rave reviews from Popjustice, and with the combination of her looks, talent and all the delicious money a major label can throw at her, she has a good shout at being next year's La Roux.
www.myspace.com/elliegoulding

Freelance Whales
Freelance Whales (right) are from New York, so you know they're at least going to be 7% cooler than someone from say...York. If you can list a banjo, a waterphone and a glockenspiel as your core instruments, you're destined to at least pique interest. Reminding me of Grizzly Bear on occasion, their combinations of atmospheric synths, and pre-civil war Americana melodies are a joy to behold.
www.myspace.com/thefreelancewhales

Joy Orbison
It would be crude to describe Joy Orbison, or Peter O'Grady to his mum, as being an underground version of Calvin Harris, and I won't do him the disservice. Hpowever when I hear him, that's the description that always pops into my mind. Fusing trippy beats, with Chicago house vocal samples, J'Orbison's debut record will be the soundtrack to your post-club comedown. He's not on Twitter, it should be pointed out.
www.myspace.com/joyorbison

So if these are the new bands coming through, what about those records we can look forward to from more familiar names? Albums due in the first few months of the year making me warm in my special places include new efforts from Hot Chip, The National, Los Campesinos, MGMT and The Hold Steady - all of which look to make 2010 a very good year for music.

But then again, we say that every year, but this time I mean it!