Sounds of 2013 - #3 - Swim Deep

With so many bands being hyped for 2013, I can't believe this amazing band from Birmingham slipped through the net of most of the lists. They their catchy Surf-Rock tracks on the world over the past 12 months and ever since we've been craving it over and over again!

"I wanna be everything I'm not, I wanna be rich I want to show off"

Now they've signed with RCA/Sony this year and the latest RCA signings have gone and recorded a laid-back road trip sound for their last single, hammering home at their increasing desire to be the coolest band in the country. 'Orange Country' is all sunshine pop, not fussed with sending fans into a frenzy and full of guitar laden punches!

They've only got signed with RCA so I can see them easily releasing an EP, or an album. A massive tour has already been penned in for the new year so you can be sure to see them when they stop by a town near you!

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Free Mp3 / Swim Deep  - Honey (Dream Kola Remix)
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Sounds of 2013 - #2 - Peace

Relativity unknown to everyone last year, Peace are a young Indie-Rock band from the Midlands. They have such a great sound, imagine Tropical-Rock with a dash of Math-Pop, that's Peace! They've gone on from their early days and have been playing lots of shows in 2012, they embarked on a massive tour in March playing 19 shows in the space of 31 days, and supporting Mystery Jets and The Manic Street Preachers.

After seeing them a couple of times including an electric show at The Portland Arms in Cambridge we knew that we had to have them in out list. We also rated their 'Delicious' EP a 9/10. They have even managed to get onto the BBC Sound of 2013 list and are clearly destined to be doing great things when the year turns 2013.

We know what we'll be doing, parting with Peace at KoKo on New Years Eve! They've already got an EP out and have done a couple of singles and even recorded a Christmas song for their fans. Large festivals will be wanting to snap up Peace to play, their going to be massive next year, mark my words!

Buy / Peace - Delicious EP
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Sounds of 2013 - #1 - Seasfire

After much anticipation we've finally got round to our number one Sound of 2013 artist, after a string of highly acclaimed demos, a sweet cover of a Lucy Rose track, a stand-alone single and an amazing EP, the Bristol based four-piece have had quite a year!

Supporting The Neighbourhood, Bastille, King Charles and Alpines (to name a few) and even playing at Reading & Leeds festival they've easily gained a whole heap of fans off those performances! When we saw them play at Reading and at The Lexington we knew that they were the real deal!

They've even been announced as one of the most blogged artists on the BBC's Blog Zeitgeist at #13 beating Grimes, The XX and Django Django. 2013 will hopefully see more great sounds from them with an album (hopefully), more live shows and more fans getting the Seasfire bug!  Their rise from early demos to this is amazing, with an album hopefully out in 2013 I can easily see them being a massive name come the end of the next year! We loved the EP, BUY it if you're smart enough! We highly recommend that you listen to them right now! We're urging all of you to go and see them, you know you can't miss out on the next best thing!

Buy / Seasfire -We Will Wake EP
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Sounds of 2013 - #4 - The Neighbourhood

We first ran in to The Neighbourhood way back in July, but hidden away in the inbox was a golden gem that when we finally heard it we couldn't believe what we missed on! They released their debut EP for free and the EP is called 'I'm Sorry' but we’re not exactly sure why they’re so sorry, but we’re glad they are. This was a great way for new and un-captured fans to get on the band-wagon

The Neighbourhood have also covered Souls Of Mischief's classic song '93 Til Infinity'. They recorded this track in Madia Vale for Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show, they played their first ever UK show the same day!

We even managed to watch them live only a month ago and we loved everything on record and it was time to see them play live, and we loved what we saw and heard. In 2013 they're releasing their début album, however in the meantime you can listen to arguably their best track 'Sweater Weather'. Enjoy listening to them, I know they're going to explode in the coming year!

Buy / The Neighbourhood - Thank You (Single)
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Sounds of 2013 - #5 - Eliza and the Bear

We're always on the look-out for great new music, and we couldn't believe what we stumbled upon when we went to see The Wild Mercury Sound earlier in the year! They've got such a great sound about them, with a front-man with amazing vocals captivating the crowd everyone stood there and admired the musicianship from the five piece.

Their latest track is everything we love over here, a young and youthful band proving it's not just copy-cat  bands ruling the 'un-signed' waves. They've got determination, soul and a huge abundance of talent. They're growing steadily into a band that can easily take on fellow Folk-Rock bands such as Mumford & Sons, and I know that's a lot to say, but I mean it. Eliza and the Bear are one of the bands for the future, if you're still not convinced just listen to their demo and their live songs, all are just beautiful!

We're going to be catching them live in January and we hope you all can do the same! The are just as good live as their recordings lead you to believe!

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Free Mp3 / Eliza and the Bear - Brothers Boat
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Sounds of 2013 - #6 - The New Union

The best thing about bands originating from Brighton is that they're at a really high standard, and The New Union are no exception! They formed nearly two years ago in Brighton. So what of it, well they bring to the table the dark yet upbeat tones of White Lies and Interpol and the light guitar tones of fellow Brighton boys, The Maccabees, and what a year they've had!

They've now got their début single stocked in Japan and New York City, just one step closer for the big time for this group of talented lads. The New Union are easily ones to watch out for next year, 'Without You' and 'Home' is just the start of things! They're a band that work hard to produce some amazing anthems. When they played for us in October we knew how good they were going to be, I can easily see them growing even more and penning a record deal in 2013.

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Sounds of 2013 - #7 - Moats

We first got into Moats via their old band, and since then we've heard some amazing tracks come from them. Today I'm pleased to announce them in our Sounds of 2013 list! hey played first ever gig at a local festival in Hitchin just this summer and have then since generated quite the buzz on the local scene and have already picked up a manager who can easily push them above and beyond!

They have been constantly writing tracks for the past year and are always up for sharing some on the social media sites, they've just released their album that they've worked on all on their own, it's called 'Singapore'. 2013 is setting up to be a bigger year for them. am sure that they'll produce an absolute deal with a record company, I know it! You can listen to and download their début album on their facebook site, and to know how good it is click here to read out 8/10 review!

Buy / Moats - Singapore (Pay what you want)
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Sounds of 2013 - #8 - Jaws

All hail Birmingham! Jaws are the next B-Town band to break, and their newest single 'Surround You'  is up there with the best! I've been playing the repeat button on soundcloud a bit too much this week, and for good reasons too! After picking up their demo CD earlier on in the year I'm glad I've let them into my life, their latest track IS track of my year!

After a solid 2012 the band is looking to make Birmingham one of the best places for new music to come out of! With their other tracks being just as fab a pick of the lot would be 'Donut', this is a great track to get into them, the Garage-Rock feel to the song makes this band a very exciting prospect! The next year will hopefully see them release a proper EP and or even an album!

One thing is for sure, the Birmingham scene is looking a whole lot better with Jaws flying the flag!

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Sounds of 2013 - #9 - Deap Vally

Bringing rock-hard grit and all-girl soul from the San Fernando Valley, Deap Vally is made up of the howl of Lindsey Troy and the rhythm of Julie Edwards. The song below is a prime example of what two girls who cite Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, White Stripes, The Rolling Stones and The Black Keys as influences, and with bags full of attitude can do when they put their mind to it.

'Gonna Make My Own Money' is pure Rock'n'Roll with it's I can do everything attitude, distorted vocals and simplistic approach to the music, just two instruments but imagine them as the heavy cousins of Blood Red Shoes and there you go! The girls have supported The Vaccines, played Reading and Leeds festival and have also toured the UK relentlessly supporting a whole host of other bands and even played their own shows!

If you're STILL now yet convinced of how good they'll be next year just check out the whole host of posts we've made about them. They've got a couple of singles out at the moment and a album in the pipeline, be sure to keep an eye on this fearsome duo over the coming year!

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Sounds of 2013 - #10 - Wolf Alice

We've only had Wolf Alice on here one before, however I've been listening to Ellie's debut  EP on soundcloud for a while now and can't believe how amazing their latest song is!. We saw them support Peace in that crazy Cambridge gig last month and fell straight back in love with the East London band.

Now they've been playing some gigs with buzz bands like Peace and Luls recently and have received some glowing press of their own in the past month too! However I think that in 2013 the band will continue to grow and will flower into one of the next big guitar bands!

Their latest song is called  'Leaving You' and it's the latest to add to their growing canon, with Ellie’s softly-softly introduction giving way to a sway of guitar-based anthemry. People have been comparing them to Howling Bells, and I can see why, yet the London band can push the barriers even more with a great batch of songs in the waiting I'm sure they'll produce one of 2013's EPs or even Albums of the year!

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Sounds of 2013 - #11 - Holy Esque

 We've been following Holy Esque for what has seemed a long time now, we first heard of them via their astonishing track 'Rose' and now they've got their début EP out! I knew that their EP would be amazing to say the least, and we ended up loving it. Read our review to see why!

As of August we had yet another reason to get wet over them; 'Tear'. This IS their best song yet, and it's free to download too, so go and download it now! Another stand out track is off their debut EP and it's called 'Rose', this track is a Post-Rock juggernaut, filled with attitude and commanding vocals you'll never forget them after you've laid your ears to this beauty!

Holy Esque is what I'd define Post-Punk Revival by, big bold guitars, thick bass and vocals that remind me of Wu Lyf. The coming year is going to be a big one with them shooting up the consciousness of the world and giving us some memorable tracks. I hope they do release an album, the lads deserve something to tour the world with someday!

Buy / Holy Esque - Holy Esque EP
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Sounds of 2013 - #12 - The 1975

They're an exciting new Manchester based band and their début release 'Facedown' EP and that release on it's own got them a whole lot of attention. Oozing confidence and a musical grasp that's matured further than their age range of twenty one.

This and they're slight swagger has managed to grab them a slot opening for many bigger bands, and this has earned themselves quite the live reputation supporting Little Comets alike. After their 2nd EP the band grew even bigger, they're part boy-band part anthematic-rock with with the right amount of slick sounds and great hooks to keep you wanting more from them!

After wowing us with their EP the band have also released a free remix of their stand-out song 'Sex'. The song has been remixed by Ryan Hemsworth, it's a chilled out and great alternative to listen to on those quiet evening in. You can listen and download it at the bottom of the post!

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Free Mp3 / The 1975 - Sex (Hackman Remix)
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Sounds of 2013 - #13 - Stay+

Stay+ (formerly Christian AIDS) is an electronic music act originating from Manchester, it's the solo project of London-born music producer, Matt Farthing. The last year has seen them change their name, release an EP and around 3 singles all to high acclaim by critics and fans alike.

Their latest song is huge at the moment, it's a huge song at the moment and there's a thumping heart buried somewhere within it all. Some amazing vocals with slick beats that remind you of a young Crystal Castles coming out of the wood work.

'Queenie' is one of those tracks that has  established Stay+ as one of the most talked-about new names in electronic music. Bring on the next year, this is going to see Matt doing what he does best, but to a lot more people!


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Sounds of 2013 - #14 - Embers

We Introduced you to Embers way back in late 2011, and a year later they've released a limited 7" single and this absolutely stunning song, performed live - 'Hollow Cage'. And boy are your ears in for a treat! You can listen to the track here, or at the bottom of the post.

They've enjoyed a steady rise to where they are now with releasing a single earlier in the year and playing a fair share of shows along the way. With Clash.com premièring their latest two videos this sees the band pick up much deserved fans and with the ever increasing interest in modern 'Post-Rock' Mancunian bands they'll be at the forefront of the movement for sure!

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Sounds of 2013 - #15 - Carousels

When Carousels came onto our radar it was when they released 'Stay With Me'. The demo from Cambridge outfit won us over from the first chord and it was certainly a tasty song! It was a little bit different from their earlier stuff but none-the-less a stand-up song!

 

After keeping an eye on one of Cambridge's next big band they started touring with Peace and we even managed to catch them live playing at the Lexington in London. They've now got a new EP on soundcloud that's seriously attracting the fans and the critics alike. With a few shows in London penned in they're keeping a low profile and are ready to pounce as soon as the year turns.

With their latest song 'Sweet Honey' as a free download, the track one to fall in love with over and over again! Watch out for them in the coming months, I can easily see them doing well in the next 12 months!

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Free Mp3 / Carousels - Sweet Honey
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Sounds of 2013 - #16 - LULS

London based LULS craft bassy, distortion drenched indie pop music with huge anthemic choruses. The London three-piece have already enjoyed the endorsement of Zane Lowe, and lets be honest, with his backing you know this band is going to be good! Their latest single 'Swing Low'came out in October and we've been playing this on loop for ages!

The band have supported the likes of Spector, Swim Deep (and come late December) Peace, other than that they've been relentlessly playing the live circuits in and around London generating quite the buzz for themselves. I'll be very surprised if they don't go on to be a band to be reckoned with for 2013!

Buy / LULS - Swing Low/Young 7"
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Sounds of 2013 - #17 - Casablanca

Casablanca are following in the footsteps of their fellow schoolmates Bombay Bicycle Club, Cajun Dance Party and Theme Park. The five-piece are plotting a raid on the masses, we've only heard one track called 'Yes', and we were hooked from the start. They've got a Friendly Fires feel to them and yet they've managed to keep us sitting on the edge of our seats with the choppy guitars, cowbells and the dance infused anthem.

2012 has been kind to them, now the young band are looking to take 2013 by the horn and show the world that they mean business! Now in previous bands they've played alongside the likes of Foals, Bloc Party and The Maccabees and even releasing a few singles, so you know that they won't be shy, I can see them doing really well for themselves in the future!


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Sounds of 2013 - #18 - Tom Odell

Chris Martin and James Blake are among the many artists that we could list as having taken the piano from its classical foundations and made it into the modern music that everyone adores. And now, London based singer-songwriter Tom Odell is proving himself to be the latest piano man to wear his heart on his sleeve. His lastest EP - 'Songs From Another Love' - easily showcases his gentle yet powerful vocals alongside his heartbreakingly beautiful lyrics.

He's a singer-songwriter that has broke though on his own an has already signed to Lily Allen's label.  His voice if fragile yet powerful and he sings mainly love songs. Recently his accomplishments involve performing live on the Later... with Jools Holland show on BBC2. 2013 is set to be a huge year for him, keep an eye on this one! Check out his performance of 'Another Love' on Jools Holland just below!

Free Mp3 / Tom Odell - Another Love (Demo)

Sounds of 2013 - #19 - Billy Lockett

Billy Lockett is a Northampton based artist who crafts amazing love songs with his guitar, he has a very acoustic style with him using tambourines, pianos and even horns on his tracks. We've been very fond of him ever since my friend Emily pointed him out to me. He has bags full of heart and soul and he has got the vocals to capture the crowd from the first chord of the song.

Now reports back from my friends all say that you have to listen to his cover of Foster The People's song 'Pumped Up Kicks', as it happens we've listened to it and he pulls of the cover with great precision with the help of his comrade Dan Blackwell, he turns a song about guns and massacre to make it sound like a soulful love song, something he is very good at doing (the soulful love songs). As it so happens we have the video of the cover to stream just below the post! Now if that hasn't convinced you this will, if you love either Ben Howard, Benjamin Francis Leftwich or any Bombay Bicycle Club song off the 'Flaws' album you'll love him!. He is certainly due a break, his music is just flawless!

Buy / Billy Lockett - Don't Wait Up
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Sounds of 2013 - #20 - Lovelife

After the sudden split-up of Viva Brother, lead singer (Leonard) decided to still peruse a career in music, the outcome of his next endeavour was this. Earlier in the year he unveiled Lovelife, this band is a synth-pop band with the gruff vocals of Leonard and has plenty of attitude, and I have to say, better than his previous bands!

After releasing an EP and some singles they're going to be going back into the studio to finish off the album which is due out next year. While you're waiting you can listen to 'The Key', and download their debut EP for free from this post!

They're playing some London shows soon with one on the 13th of December in Camden, pop on down if you're free!

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Free Mp3 / Lovelife - El Regreso EP
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