Sounds of 2013

I love all the buzz surrounding new music at the start of the year. One of my first full-time journalism jobs was working as an assistant editor at InDublin, and I got to go to lots of great gigs and interview so many new, excited, creative acts. This, along with festival season, used to be my favourite time of year.

Great blogs like Nialler9 and On The Record celebrate new tunes twelve months of the year, but come January we all hop on the bandwagon. Here are few of the bands and artists I’m rooting for in 2013.

Arlissa // I love her voice, she sounds like an urban Florence Welch, and something about this track brings me back my 90s R&B-obsessed days, which is always a good thing.

Haim // Jess, the KISS Dep Ed has been raving about these gals for ages and put them into our 13 Things to Love in 2013 feature in the January issue. This track reminds me a bit of A Fine Frenzy, one of my biggest musical girl crushes.

Little Green Cars // Along with Kodaline (below), these are one of the most buzzed about bands of the new year it seems. Every time The John Wayne comes on the radio I smile, and can’t wait to hear the album, which is due out soon.

Kodaline // I’d been hearing them talked about for a while, but it wasn’t until I watched this video that Kodaline really penetrated. It’s such a poignant, touching, beautiful video and such a gorgeously melancholy song. First time I watched it I genuinely thought I’d have a little cry at my desk. Love the line “Our love was made for movie screens.”

Stooshe // I hope this is great year for these girls. I was lucky enough to interview them for the mag (you can see some pics here) and catch them opening up for J-Lo a few months back. Black Heart was a brilliant track, and their cover of TLC’s Waterfalls was inspired, but I love this cover of Ed Sheeran’s Lego House.

Lewis Watson // We’ve featured this cutie in the mag a few times (look out for him again in the February issue, out Wednesday) and his sweet, angst-filled songs will bring you back to days when you flopped down on your bed and moped about your crush.

Orla Gartland // Another YouTube hit, Irish singer-songwriter Orla’s also been featured in KISS. She’s funny, witty and folksy and I love how she interacts with her fanbase in a very real way, as this vid shows.

Rosie Carney // My friend Michelle was gushing about this lady at our NYE’s dinner, and sent me on some links. This song is mellow, melodic and folksy. I can’t believe she’s only 15! Would love to feature her in the mag.

Hope you enjoyed these, and feel free to share links to any other new tunes you’ve been loving in the comments.