I decided to investigate 5 of the bands being highlighted in these lists (many of which have top PR people working for them to get them there) to discover if I would be falling for any of them in the year ahead.
Palma Violets are receiving huge support from the likes of the NME. They look like they wanna be The Libertines, however they look far too clean cut to inspire the kind of devotion that Doherty and Barrat did.
The first song of theirs I listened to was 'Tom the Drum' via the BBC website and I thought it was so shite that I wouldn't bother listening to anything else they had to offer.
I did persist though and checked out 'Best of Friends' via their website. The chorus is admittedly pretty good. I just get the feeling that they are trying too hard for their look and sound. It was natural for The Libertines, this just seems pretty fake to me.
VERDICT - I won't be wasting much time on Palma Violets.They will probably release one moment of punky guitar pop genious but depsite being on the brilliant Rough Trade, I won't be holding my breath,
Haim are number one in the celebrated BBC Sound of 2013 list and have also been widely tipped across the music press. I discovered them towards the end of 2012 when I downloaded 'Forever' after a friend was tweeting about it.
The song flows superbly and I do love the refrain at the end;
Go, go, go get out, get out of my memory
No, no, no not tonight I don't have the energy
'Don't Save Me' is more of the same, clever and catchy pop with echoes of Fleetwood Mac.
VERDICT - Definitely worth checking out. The album could soundtrack a sunny summer.
The Strypes are freshly signed to Mercury Records and are so fresh faced that they look like they would struggle to get served in my local pub(well they are all 14-16!)
When you google the band one of the items near the top is 'Elton John checks out RADAR band The Strypes at tiny Brighton pub gig'. That's when the cynic in me thinks - jeez they must have some good connections.
The Strypes play raw rock'n'roll, Van Morrison's days with Them seem to be an immediate stand out amongst their many influences; they have some choice covers from the likes of Bo Didley and the Stones on their YouTube channel.
VERDICT - A spectacular year including every festival imaginable but can the youngsters keep up the pace or will they crash and burn? Will they produce material of their own to match their great choice of covers? Kudos to their folks for introducing them to some great music.
Peace - are another band whose name seems to be cropping up in all the right places at the right time. My initial reaction to them was 'cool website'. I chose to check out their song and video 'Bloodshake'. The guitar melody is quite Vampire Weekend-y, the video comes across as being a bit like The Word (cult 90's TV show on Channel 4) and the band look like they aren't really a band - as in they are all a bit different. I didn't last until the end of the song.
I checked out their song 'Follow Baby' and it seems to be strange melting pot of Northside, Jesus Jones and Senseless Things. For those of you not as old as me - this ain't good.
VERDICT - Particularly poor.
Next up I opted to check out some futuristic R&B courtesy of AlunaGeorge who made the final 5 on the BBC Sound of list. 'Just A Touch' is the song featured on the Beeb website and it had me hooked immediately with a catchy riff, gorgeous vocals and melody with a shift in pace at all the right times.
Next up I checked out 'Your Drums, Your Love' on YouTube and thought that the phrase 'futuristic R&B' describes them perfectly. This is not the kind of music that features heavily in my record collection but when I stumble across something like this then I do get into it. The chorus is uplifting, the production is sublime and the vocals are once again gorgeous.
VERDICT - A critically acclaimed album that gets to the Mercury shortlist.
So there you have it - pass marks for AlunaGeorge and Haim, a definitely maybe for The Strypes and a thanks but no thanks for Palma Violets and Peace,
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