POLL: The BBC Sound of 2011 Listees

of the only two i've heard on this list, esben & the witch are pretty good and i find warpaint unbearable.

I like Jessie J ("Do it Like a Dude" at least, though I was alone in that in the rolling pop thread) and The Vaccines too (Justin Young's previous thing, Jay Jay Pistolet, was likewise delightful). The one Jamie Woon track I've heard is nice, and I've seen Jai Paul's name on a few things, but don't that I've ever heard him. Warpaint is dire, Esben and The Witch is ooookay. Somehow, I expect Yuck to be appropriately named.

yuck go straight onto this thread Artists You've Written Off/Pointedly Ignored because of their name

ha this is one of my favorite annual ilm threads

the naked & famous look like the only act here I'd be even remotely interested

smh, BBC

*in

mods should unban passantino for this thread

yeah they should.

also, James Blake's music is terrible post-dubstep bullshit experimentalism. i'm down with all those terms, but his music is as exciting as watching an ugly hooker walk down the street. in other words, sad and contrived.

I dunno, LJ. I could see you digging Esben and The Witch...maybe.

Just went ahead and listened to Yuck anyway, and it's really not too bad in a fuzzyindiepopcirca1994 kind of way. But let's be honest...there's a shit ton of that around right now and it's hard to distinguish one group from another usually (just like it was in 1994).

blake's feist cover is one of the best songs of the year

i used to clown dude, but that song opened his music to me a bit & i think the klaiverwerk ep (or w/e) is pretty good, but not nearly as good as the feist cover -- i'm p excited about his vocal ep, whenever it comes out

Yuck sound exactly like Dinosaur Jr and Das Damen. I like them well enough, but I can't believe they're anyone's hopes for a big breakthrough act this year.

I was thinking more like pre-"Sorry Again" Velocity Girl or any number of o.g. Slumberland bands, but if you hear Dino Jr. and Das Damen, that's cool.

Album's fine, but world will not be set on fire. Decent live band, in a slacker sort of way. Hear Dino/Damen in the mid-pace fuzz leaping into overdriven solos, and the naptime vocals ...

Of this The Vaccines and James Blake seem to have the biggest ground-level bandwagon behind them. The Vaccines stuff I've heard is fun, obviously jacking The Ramones in every conceivable way but hey there are many worse influences, and they do it well.

James Blake is dull, dull, dull. Like someone decided the next way to push dubstep into the mainstream was to make it sound a bit more like Elbow. I'm liking Jamie Woon more at the moment, although he's housier that's no bad thing in my book.

Warpaint are great but they're a 2010 band surely, did they just run out of ideas?

no Lil Wayne?

If Anna Calvi is actually audibly influenced by Debussy, Messiaen and PJ Harvey she will at least be interesting. I suspect that'll be sanded out to appeal to the Radio 2 crowd by the time her album actually comes out.

Espen & The Witch look like a band whose entire image has been based upon getting into this list and building from there. Clearly "grew up listening to Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky and Bjork" is the new "influenced by Kate Bush".

Yeah, the sound cycle of popular music is usually about 20 years, but the influences start creeping in after just 15.

anna calvi - the fuck is this supposed to be like an opera singer fronting dirty projectors? gross

claire mcguire - so the florence & the machine yodeler of 2011? this video is hilarious tho, linkin park would be totally jealous

daley - is this a dude? if so this is some of the worst facial hair i've ever seen. i thought this song "more than a woman" was gonna be a cover of aaliyah, but it's not & whatever this is isn't terrible either -- i guess this dude is like francis & the lights spare funk ish? i kinda dig this unbelievably. more of a vibe thing than an actual good song. gonna listen to his "pretty wings" cover now... he has a good taste at least. good voice, classically speaking. needs to shave & get rid of this janelle monae haircut tho. self respect & all.

esben & the witch - oh god... atmospheric indie rock & a dude wearing dan deacon glasses. it's weird to me that people can still write songs like this & maybe even weirder that critics can be like "this is cool & new, i dig it." moving on.

jai paul - oh god this is looks like it's gonna be a fucking mess. "kaleidoscope funk" goes straight to the 'depressing phrases' thread. this is okay i guess... way more boring than it probably realizes it is tho. we should just ban MIA as well for a few years, just for what she has wrought aesthetically. holy hell.

james blake - i already posted about dude, i'm probably gonna vote for him. would just like to add that he's crazy smashable. i love how the bass on the feist cover feels like it's burrowing into your brain right thru your forehead (on headphones). it's like a reverse migraine.

jamie woon - i already i know i dig this too. "night air" really kinda owns. i wonder if his name was some dumb pun like "joy orbison" if he would be getting more press. "joy hobbs" is still available. this song is great.

jessie j - i'm reading that "do it for a dude" was written for rihanna which makes tons of sense, but christ who the hell let her take this song. first of all i'm not sure how she gets away singing "i can do it like a brotha" but w/e. trying to affect rihanna's dancehall singing is just a horrible look for her & is all wrong. & that doesn't even get into the minaj biting facial contortions. goodness.

mona - real distinctive name, they'll be going places surely. oh it's some lo fi indie rock, actually a welcome entry in this list. idk, what can you say. looks like they care more about their own songs than anyone else ever will, but this song is pretty cool anyway. see you in forktracks, guys.

nero - oh is this some chillwave nonsense?? oh it sounds like straight house actually, cartoon video threw me off. this was cool when it was more dubstepy, now it went all crookers.... idk. ah i fuck w/ this, what the hell. thumbs up.

the naked & famous - oh brother, this name. anthemic synth pop. this has some real hooks tho. not spectacular but it'll do.

the vaccines - signed to columbia eh? is this gonna be strokes-y? oh it's just pop-punk stuff w/ some reverb... alright i fuck w/ it. "if you wanna" is great! this is reminds me of like if kurt vile was british & was a big clash fan or something. "blow it up" is less effortlessly hooky tho.

warpaint - read about these girls... this is nice enough. idk. not my thing.

wretch 32 - alright was waiting for the rapper. this is the worst rapper name of all time altho. i would've guessed this was a major lazer song if i didn't know any better. the chorus is kind of hilarious & not in a good way, but the verses are nice & the production is really cool. he's kinda cheesin in this video tho.

yuck - i loved one cajun dance party song, tho i don't remember which it is. so this is the pains of being pure at heart 2011 version? kinda hooky! this riff is pretty dope. i like this. another one that has a better vibe than it does a song, but w/e.

anna calvi - the fuck is this supposed to be like an opera singer fronting dirty projectors? gross

ok this, while still NAVGL, has made me a mite more interested

kinda dig this unbelievably -- lol there should be a VERY IMPORTANT comma in between "this" and "unbelievably" here

i voted for the vaccines altho i suspect "if you wanna" is the best they've got

Vaccines have got three good Ramones stompers - If You Wanna, Wreckin Bar and Nordgard. Less good when they try to be serious. At the moment, the 25-minute live set is a blast.

Everytime I see Daley I am reminded that I had that haircut when I was 18. My mother told me it was terrible and I should get rid of it. Daley should be introduced to and listen to my mother.

jordan making me more interested with his blurbs than i should be. still never going to give a fuck about 1 of these [via a history of never giving a fuck about 1 of these] [[with the exception of sway]] [[[whatever happened to sway?]]]

the naked & famous look like the only act here I'd be even remotely interested

Seriously? Theirs was the blurb that provoked the biggest eyeroll for me. Enough with the fake MGMTs already.

Somehow this list has managed to rep for Master Shortie and Devlin over the last couple of years while sleeping on Tinchy Stryder and Tinie Tempah so I'm not sure how much stock I put by its ability to judge the commercial potential of anything rap/grime related.

Somehow this list has managed to rep for Master Shortie and Devlin over the last couple of years while sleeping on Tinchy Stryder and Tinie Tempah so I'm not sure how much stock I put by its ability to judge the commercial potential of anything rap/grime related.

It's like you don't even remember them calling Lil Wayne one of 2008s best new artists... ;_; They know so much

the naked & famous look like the only act here I'd be even remotely interested

Seriously? Theirs was the blurb that provoked the biggest eyeroll for me. Enough with the fake MGMTs already.

I realize they're new to a lot of people, but I just happened across them on Myspace in the summer of 2008 when nobody outside of their hometown (and me) was paying them attention. I'm kind of glad they've reached some level of noticeability. The MGMT comparisons drive me up the wall, though. Passion Pit...maybe...but not even that much. "Young Blood" is far and away my favorite single of 2010.

Carter III didn't exactly obliterate sales records in this country either, although I'm sure it was better than anything whoever else was on that list put out.

Re: Mona

I just realized I've heard these dudes before, but didn't connect with the name. If the Rattle and Hum album had never existed, I don't think they would either.

I like James Blake's stuff a lot. There, I said it.

Where's Girl Unit on this poll?

yeah i thought we liked james blake around here.

the names of the last five bands on this poll sound like they're from 1993 at the latest.

I just refreshed my memory of the last three years' worth of listees, and they've actually been pretty spot-on in at least the female-pop and guitar-rock areas (with a few exceptions). I'd almost be willing to bet money that Little Boots' next venture, whatever it is, flops like a fat drunk on a hot day.

Where's Girl Unit on this poll?

― What are you doing here? (dog latin), Monday, 6 December 2010 10:26 (10 minutes ago) Bookmark

being good traditionally has little to do with this fyi.

james blake is so overrated, like his tennis namesake. i have no idea why i keep seeing his name dropped by people who don't otherwise seem to be into the whole bass scene. OH WAIT I DO. i find all of his stuff awkward and dull - haven't heard this feist cover that people have been going on about, but the idea of a post-dubstep producer crossing over because of an indie cover is too lame for words.

jessie j is horrendous, i remember checking "do it like a dude" out because so many people (all v industry people...the kind of people who really seem invested in industry shit always perturb me slightly) had been going on about her. was completely appalled. the way she says "man dem man dem" might be the single worst pop moment of 2010.

warpaint are ok - should give their album another listen, enjoyed the sounds on it but none of the songs really sunk in, and i couldn't really think of a reason why, if i was in that sort of mood, i wouldn't just choose to listen to school of seven bells instead.

wretch 32 has been around for donkey's years and never grabbed me. i assume he's planning some sort of major label pop crossover now? i guess it can't make him any worse.

jamie woon is awesome! "night air" is one of those songs that you just know is special the first time you hear it - it's been such a soundtrack of my winter. if indeed it was co-produced by burial, it's the best thing he's put his name to too. i also love this track that jamie woon did with subeena last year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dw1PTtu2dE

for the people who haven't heard "night air" -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL0pTo9Z_XU

oh god, I just realized Jamie Woon looks and sings a little like David Archuleta from American Idol a couple seasons ago....which makes me think he (Archuleta) is totally going down the wrong career path.

The Subeena collab isn't all that really, just a bit meandering, which is strange as I love everything else she's done.

Check the Ramadanman mix of "Night Air" also people.

Don't really want to check any of these out, even just to kvetch about them.

i'm in a rush and can't stop to read the list so i'mma just post

lol all of these

as a place-marker

i haven't heard it in awhile but would it be o_O to say that the ramadanman mix of "night air" makes me think of.. mj cole?

No it's very mj cole - in a good way!

it seems to me like the edgy, paranoid, yearning side of 2-step is being re-excavated these days but very little of the simple effervescent side of it (even that fives song is shot through with trepidation)

I think that Wretch 32 song is pretty good.

jamie woon

"The Naked and Famous"

Is this a new supergroup consisting of Samantha Fox, Sabrina, Grace Jones and Iggy Pop?

James Blake will win

Jessie J is abominable

would take Wretch 32's wry casualness over Giggs

"The Naked and Famous" - I don't know if this is a quote from an older source, but isn't this a refrain off something or other on Pre-Millennium Tension?

That was with reference to what MAttDC said btw:

Clearly "grew up listening to Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky and Bjork" is the new "influenced by Kate Bush"

Yeah, Tricky Kid.

If they last long enough to release a 2nd album, I'll listen to it. I like Palace and all their pre-album singles.

yeah but you're you

other people are not you

they don't know or care about chapel club

It's testament to the rise of the poptimists that he honestly (?) thinks the average critic is more inclined to read deep meaning into Jessie J or Rihanna than into an indie rock band.

white people have the best resentments

i know chapel club are white people cuz i posted them to the Gallery of unfortunate band photos

It's testament to the mad diplomatic skillz of the Chapel Club guy that he's managed to put himself on the wrong side of a debate that also involves the hands-down worst new pop star of 2011.

who the hell are chapel club?!

for his information, she identifies as bisexual

I didn't think she was a lesbian tbh

Yeah, it was the first I'd heard of it.

Anyway, he was probably told she was a lesbian the night before he was asked about her and didn't do his own independent research before answering a tossed-off NME question.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/CC_450.jpg

*gulp*

jessie club vs chapel j

look at those fucking indie kids

Guy on the left is in the wrong band surely?

the two on the right are the most objectionable

why are they all so badly dressed

cuz they are idiots

Find it difficult to believe their music could be worse than Jessie J even if they are terrible, but you never know.

She's fucking rubbish, either way. They look rubbish too.

They sound like pre-"britpop" British rock music (like any number of bands who sprang up post-Smiths and vanished as soon as Blur arrived).

(^ which happens to be the sound I romanticize as genuinely awesome because I was 13-14 at the time it was happening.)

That's exactly what I'd have expected them to sound like from that photo. NB I have a deep-seated hatred for that sound.

idk who those bands were

swervedriver? emf?

Fugazi? (JOKE) No I don't who you mean either, the Bluetones, Shed Seven?

I'd assumed fake C86 indie jangle/tweepop.

apart from the "mildly ironic" bit which is just odd and doesn't even read like a proper zing, there's virtually no significant difference between what was printed and what he purports to have said... I don't get why this is worthy of a long ass blog at all? As far as I can tell basically everyone invested in pop crit/journalism/whatever thinks Jessie J is terrible

xposts middle dude even LOOKS like Lamacq

I'd assumed fake C86 indie jangle/tweepop.

Was there much of that around, pre-Blur? Scene was dead by then surely?

As far as I can tell basically everyone invested in pop crit/journalism/whatever thinks Jessie J is terrible

idk she's obviously getting support from somewhere - think a lot of pop blogs are pro-jessie j

I'm talking about stuff like Mighty Lemon Drops, Railway Children, s/t album era Echo & The Bunnymen, etc.

Pretty narrow scene there!

Yeah post-Smiths pre-Blur is quite a long time.

Smiths wound down in 1987, Blur's first album was 1991...so four years?

There's a little bit of proto-shoegaze in them too, like Ride's early singles.

87-91 feels like a huge accelerated period of change musically though, in virtually all ways.

They sound kind of like Gene imo.

I thought I didn't like Jessie J but I didn't realise "Do It Like a Dude" was by her that record rocks fuck u if u are in a shit indie band and disagree.

Lex is in an indie band?

yeah but it's a good one

jeez obviously logically I am only saying "fuck u" to those who fit both criteria do you even know what "and" means?

^ gone too fucking far this time

And? And? wharrayoumean "and" ?

"... So I kicked him right in the balls, he fell to the floor, and as he fell to the floor he said, "Euuughh!" I said, "Don't you 'Euuughh' me, mate!""

Keepin' It Logically Positive

who'd think it would comte this, nv not even bothered to russell up a decent zing

Hadn't heard them until catching them at Primavera on Sunday, but pretty sure Warpaint should have walked this. Still fond of Yuck and Esben though.

Well, the Vaccines have dome alright, Warpaint too.

I saw Yuck on Later, they seemed alright, then again they seemed like Sebadoh. so..