Bands to Watch in 2009
By: Adam Bunch, Cody McGraw, Nicole Kai Kobilansky
With 2008 finally behind us, it's time to look forward to what 2009 will have to offer. So, to kick off the new year right, below you'll find ten bands that we have a funny feeling you'll be hearing more about in the year ahead.
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Antony and The Johnsons |
We're going to be honest. The first time we saw Antony, it was when he was touring as part of Lou Reed's backing band. And his weird-voiced rendition of "Candy Says" made us want him dead.
Oh, how things have changed. Antony and the Johnson's 2005 debut, I Am a Bird Now, had the indie kids swooning and the Mercury Prize committee deciding it was the best British record of the year. And in the meantime, Antony has been working on solidifying his credentials even further, collaborating with Björk and Hercules and Love Affair among others. But it's 2009's sophomore full-length, The Crying Light, that will decide whether or not Antony manages to stay firmly planted in our hearts.
If the teaser provided by the Another World EP – which, if you'll recall, we called "[m]usic that makes you want to smile, cry and tear your heart out all at the same time" – is any indication, it will.
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Blikk Fang |
At first we thought we were just having an indie-driven wet dream, but nope, turns out this one's true. Kevin Barnes from Of Montreal and Andrew Van Wyngarden from MGMT have, in fact, teamed up for a side project by the name of Blikk Fang. Granted, we don't know all that much about it at the moment other than that, but we're willing to admit it: our hopes are up. And the couple of demos they've posted online so far do nothing to dissuade us.
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Bombay Bicycle Club |
We're going to call it here and now: Bombay Bicycle Club are the next Arctic Monkeys. This band of precocious young lads has already been on the tip of every Briton's tongue in '08 thanks to two excellent EPs filled with clever indie pop carried by frontman Jack Steadman's signature strained vibrato. The cover of NME can't be far behind once their LP comes out this year – mark our words.
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Bruce Peninsula |
Wait, what? Experimental gospel folk? BELIEVE IT! Neil Haverty fronts Bruce Peninsula with his low, bluegrass-style voice as several others back him up as his soul section. The result can only be described as a religious experience. The power felt in these songs is bafflingly intense, and as anyone who has seen this band live can tell you, it's pretty unforgettable.
Is Bruce Peninsula the next great Canadian live band? Most definitely. And the best part is that they're doing something different. They aren't using a synthesizer, voice distortion or samples. It's just good old fashioned music brought to the modern age for all of us to enjoy.
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Florence and The Machine |
Florence Welch and her revolving door of a band "machine" have already had two singles ("Kiss With a Fist" and "Dog Days Are Over") on the radio, played the Glastonbury and Reading festivals, won a Critics' Choice Brit Award and scored a spot on the NME Awards Tour – all without having so much as an album to their name. Welch's soulful voice, combined with an edgy folk-rock machine sound, has earned her comparisons to The White Stripes and Kate Bush, and she looks well-groomed to join their rungs in the coming future.
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K'naan |
The Mogadishu-born, Toronto-based hip hop artist is already a household name (well, among Canadian hip hop obsessives, anyway), thanks to his stellar, Polaris Prize-nominated debut, The Dusty Footed Philosopher. But it's his upcoming Troubador record which promises to be the real break-through. The album's opening salvo, "ABCs", was one of the best songs of 2008 – good enough to land an honourable mention on our Top 20 Songs of 2008 list and to suggest that Troubador will be among the best hip hop records of 2009. It doesn't hurt that Mos Def, The Roots and Nelly Furtado now count themselves among his fans. For anyone who is longing for the days of truly great, politically minded hip hop, K'naan may just prove to be what you've been looking for.
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Late of the Pier |
Fantasist, electric, odditorium-pop is the currency of Late of the Pier, who have been building buzz in '08 thanks to the release of their debut album, Fantasy Black Channel, produced by legendary DJ/producer Erolk Alkan. As long as they don't limit themselves by accumulating an increasingly teenage audience, this quartet should pick up where The Klaxons left off in 2007.
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La Roux |
This London-based duo is already billed to open for Lily Allen on her European tour, and their infectious indie dance ballads are probably going to be no less popular than "LDN" in '09 – just listen to "Quicksand".
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Lioness |
Vanessa Fischer, Jeff Scheven and Ronnie Morris are Lioness. If you didn't already know, the two ex-controller.controller members molded with ex-No Dynamics member Fischer in 2007 and the result is going to be epic. Epic may be a pretty forward term, but the power of the rhythm section mixed with Fischer's voice is truly something special and will be turning heads all through 2009.
Already tourmates with You Say Party! We Say Die! and Hercules and Love Affair, Lioness has a very steady buzz. "Harder They Fall" slices into your brain like a pod person and takes you on an atmospheric trip you won't soon forget. "You're My Heart" is a modern love song with a modern theme, relatable to everyone even if they won't admit it. "Haunted Magick" is a kick in the face of a moody song that shows Fischer's amazing vocal range and stresses the importance of the rhythm section's role in the band.
This is the sound of Lioness. For the lovers off the after hours club, this is how it feels to be drunk and not know where you are or how you're getting home. This is the sound of 2009.
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Micachu |
Micachu (aka 21-year-old electro pop artist Mica and her band The Shapes) have been popping up in avant-garde lifestyle mags and at cool parties all year, thanks to subtly catchy songs like "Golden Phone", recorded on makeshift instruments, including hoovers. The pint-sized, classically trained Mica used to frequent London's grime and garage scenes before writing an orchestral piece for the London Philharmonic Orchestra – this mish-mash of influences produces a truly un-pigeon-hole-able sound.
