Khamari
Listen to the opening bars on Khamari’s debut album, A Brief Nirvana, and you’d be hard-pressed not to think Frank Ocean had begun a new project under a different moniker. Truth is, there are many influences distilled into the Boston-born artist’s project, none of them overshadowing or confusing his sound. Expect big things ahead.
Picture Parlour
When it comes to breakout success for British bands, 2023 no doubt belongs to The Last Dinner Party, whose four singles to date have seen them rise from London’s gig circuit to BRIT Award winners and soon-to-be Roundhouse headliners. Well look out for their recent tour support, Picture Parlour, next year. Fronted by charismatic crooner Katherine Parlour, whose penchant for unfurling her hands resembles Alex Turner of The Car era, they’re not far behind their recent tourmates by any means.
Bar Italia
Four albums in – including two this year alone – and you might assume London-based Bar Italia wouldn’t exactly be ones to watch. But on their latest LP, The Twits, you hear an outfit truly finding their place in a saturated post-punk scene. It makes sense they’ll be seeing in the new year with a party at the storied 100 Club venue: 2024 will be a year they can truly start to cement themselves, and revel in the growing cult around them.
HotWax
The playful rock of HotWax’s output is as bright and bold as each of the Hastings-via-Brighton trio’s distinctive hair; fluorescent, fun and fearless. After two 2023 EPs to their name – A Thousand Times, which dropped in May, and Invite me, kindly, which followed in October – as well as a stint supporting Royal Blood on tour, they’re well and truly just getting started.
Trout
Liverpool-based Trout also experienced something of a breakthrough this year, which gathered speed following the release of her hazy, self-produced indie-rock banger ‘Gutter’ in May. Chess Club Records have a habit for unearthing next generational talents (Wolf Alice, Jungle, Easy Life) and in Trout they have another with huge potential on their books – she’s a catch.
Gyakie
Ghanaian star Gyakie marked 2023 by the release of just one solo single: the melodious bop ‘Rent Free’. But you can’t keep an artist of her stature quiet for long, and we expect this relatively reserved period by her standards can only mean a huge amount of work and music has been created in the background. At least, that’s what we hope.
Search Results
Dublin has become something of a conveyor belt of exceptional bands in recent years. Fontaines D.C. The Murder Capital. Sprints. (Not to mention Just Mustard from Dundalk, about an hour’s drive up the road). Whatever it is in the salty Irish air, the list is growing, and alt-rock trio Search Results are yet another band to take note of – especially following their terrific debut LP Information Blip, which arrived in September.
Lola Young
Placing Lola Young on a Ones to Watch list for next year might seem like a slight misnomer. But given how much the 22-year-old still has to give following the release of her terrific debut album, My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely, released earlier this year, we expect the BRIT School alumni to take even greater strides. With her smoky vocals and huge, ever-growing fanbase, Lola has a cut-through that no amount of marketing could orchestrate. You’d be wise to start getting used to her name.
Do Nothing
Do Nothing’s lead vocalist and lyricist Chris Bailey is a thinker – to put it mildly. Yet the fruits of his pensive labour no doubt paid dividends on the finished product of the band’s debut album, Snake Sideways, released earlier this year. Given the effort Bailey and co. give to their work (the singer spent the majority of Snake Sideways’ writing sessions burrowed away in a basement), 2024 might not bring another Do Nothing album, but we expect them to kick on in other ways.
Nightbus
Even with just three singles and a remix to their name, it’s very obvious Nightbus are opting for artistic integrity over huge numbers and quickfire hits. (I mean, which band opts for a remix at this stage anyhow?). This will ultimately stand them in good stead as they make, what they describe, as music to soundtrack your night.
Elmiene
With a voice that spans the smoothness of The Weeknd and the jazzy instincts of Anderson .Paak, British-Sudanese singer-songwriter Elmiene is by far and away one of the most exciting artists going right now. His two EPs to date, however, EL-MEAN and Marking My Time – both released this year – don’t just put his voice front and centre, but demonstrate his Prince-like desires to experiment. We predict big things for his debut album, whenever that may come.
Melotone
Bristol-via-Black Country band Melotone offer something remarkably original. Their psych jazz sound is fronted by the dreamy vocals of Alec Madeley, who occasionally dips into the Portuguese language of his heritage. The evidently tight-knit playing from the rest of the band – Pete Carey (guitarist), Ant Nicklin (bass) and Ed Pearson (Drums) – gives an hypnotic-like charm to their work at times.
Bricknasty
Traversing RnB, neo-soul, jazz, psych, and many a sound in between, Bricknasty are signed to UK label FAMM, which is also home to the likes of Jorja Smith, Enny and Maverick Sabre. Their debut EP, INA CRUELER, pays homage to the Dublin suburb of lead singer Fatboy’s hometown of Ballymun. Yes, that’s right: another top Dublin outfit for you to keep tabs on.
Heartworms
When we interviewed Heartworms, the creative moniker of Jojo Orme, in 2022, she certainly had ambition, matched by a sure sense of who she was. But over the past 12 months, her punk potency and desire for experimentation – nurtured by the ever-brilliant Speedy Wunderground label – have given her even greater bite as we head into 2024.
Lip Filler
Another Chess Club Records signee on the list (there are some things you just know you can trust), Lip Filler have had a big year since they dropped their self-titled debut EP in May. They’ve still been keeping things intimate, though, treating a select group of fans to a tiny gig inside the Shepherd’s Bush flat where the five-piece live. We expect they’ll need much bigger venues next year and onwards.
English Teacher
You don’t release a song called ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’ without having something about you. Well, that’s my theory anyway; based on the wholly scientific evidence of English Teacher indeed having something about them, and having released a track titled just that. In fact, the Leeds four-piece are one of a few bands currently (along with Bar Italia, also on this list) who have a gift in taking the mundane and flipping it into something rather extraordinary.
SOFY
Leicester’s SOFY has an alluring charm, inviting you into a world of bright, bold colours and nostalgic, softly-spoken indie-pop a la Yellow Days or Pixey. With 2023 bringing the arrival of her debut mixtape Chaos & Commotion, followed by a recent UK tour, the only way is up for this buzzy talent.
The Manatees
2024 is already shaping up to be a big year for indie-rock trio The Manatees, with a tour in April set to support their forthcoming Different State of Mind EP which arrives in February. Consisting of school friends Jay, Tyler and Miller, the three-piece have followed the classic route of moving from a sleepy town on the south coast of England to the bright lights of London – and, so far, it seems to be paying off.
Samira
The post-Covid years have brought an explosion of dancefloor euphoria, with many grateful to be free and moving. And with lockdowns now well and truly a thing of the past, the party shows no sign of slowing down. South London independent artist Samira is riding that wave, with pop and dance-oriented sensibilities that have already seen her clock over nine million streams. Her debut, six-track EP Dancefloors & Drama Vol. 1 is out at the beginning of next year, and will see her mark her territory for the years ahead.
TS Lagga
As an indication of TS Lagga’s age and self-confidence, the South London rapper used his Reading & Leeds slot to open his GCSE results earlier this year. His reason, he told us, was to counter some of the stigma attached to youngsters rapping. It’s exactly this wise head, as well as his lyrical flow and traversing of drill and afrobeat, that makes him one to watch.
Unflirt
Born and raised in West London, Unflirt is the first generation daughter of Filipino parents. Her recent EP, April’s Nectar, is a neat package of bit-part floaty dream-pop, bit-part hazy alt-rock, all tied together by a vocal delicacy akin to the likes of Beabadoobee and Birdy. Yet just because of its often breezy nature doesn’t mean it lacks bite; Unflirt is going places.
