Those wonderful hygiene-impaired Brits have a new poll:

“New York electro-rock group The Bravery have come top of the BBC News website's Sound of 2005 poll to find the music scene's most promising new act.”

1. The Bravery
2. Bloc Party
3. Kano
4. The Game
5. Kaiser Chiefs
6. KT Tunstall
7. The Dead 60s
8. The Dears
9. Tom Vek
10. The Magic Numbers

Interesting. The subtitle of the poll, I think, is "acts most likely to be shamelessly fawned over and proclaimed to be the future of rock and roll and/or the next Strokes, Libertines, Oasis, etc by the NME."

From that list, I know of three:

1. The Dears, who have been making music in Canada for at least 6 years but whom the Brits will claim to have discovered and, therefore, "created."

2. Bloc Party, whose ep pops up as "Recommended" for me on Amazon.com and who are, according to reviews, completely aboard the neo-new wave/post punk train (eg: I love you Gang of Four!!!!)

3. The Bravery, who I heard of for the first time yesterday when I saw a cardboard display at a record store with a 99 cent single from the band (advertised on the display as "best new band in Britain") and promises of an upcoming full-length on Virgin. I can't say word oone about their music, since I haven't heard it, but when your first album is preceded by a "try me" cd and you're getting that "try me" in the US, you've got some powerful (and sinister) forces behind you. I'll be interested to see what they sound like...

I got recommended that Bloc Party EP as well. Not really in a hurry to download it.

If you read the fine print, Keane topped the list in 2004, so it's a bit of a dubious honour.

From what I've heard (courtesy of a gift mix), I'd say that the Bravery sound like Robert Smith fronting 1980 U2, and Bloc Party sound like Robert Smith (!) fronting 1977/8 Talking Heads and/or "Entertainment!"-era Gang of Four, although there was a hint of Les Savy Fav thrown in. The mix also had one Kaiser Chief song, and they were harder to classify, so does that mean that they're better than the others?

I received the same mix as Mark, and I share his assessment. I really liked the Bravery, which had all of the early U2 sound that I like mixed with a less-whiny Robert Smith vocal.

The Kaiser Chiefs song ("I Predict a Riot") rocks my socks, but it's got more of a straight up punk sound (Clash, Jam) that the more arty post-punk of Bloc Party and the Bravery. I liked the Bravery more, but the Bloc Party is getting TONS of press. One of my local critics called them "brilliant" and the "best new band of 2005" which strikes me as a little premature. But what's a new British band without some hype?

A few others on the British side of the Atlantic that will have US release that intrigue me: Kasabian and I Am Kloot.

1. The Bravery - They sound exactly- and I mean exactly- like the Killers. Which could be good if you like the Killers, I guess. I don't. And like that band, I like exactly one song by this one ("Honest Mistake" and "All These Things That I've Done").
2. Bloc Party - The album is extremely uneven, but I like their sound, and some songs are just fantastic: "Like Eating Glass," "Banquet," "She's Hearing Voices," and a number of others are all instant keepers.
3. Kano - Don't know. This is a rapper, right?
4. The Game - A lot of fun because of the panoply of talented producers creating a unified, pleasant sound. I like this album, but Game lacks a lot as an MC, mostly restraint in name-and-album-dropping.
5. Kaiser Chiefs - Don't know this one.
6. KT Tunstall - Ditto.
7. The Dead 60s - Ditto.
8. The Dears - I don't like them; very very Coldplay.
9. Tom Vek - Who?
10. The Magic Numbers - Who?

The Bloc Party record just got an 8.9 rating from Pitchfork. That's a really high score. It makes me even more interested in hearing the rest of the album. Obviously, they'll be this year's Franz Ferdinand...will that entail them performing on the Grammy stage next year???

too bad franz was extremely lame at the grammys...if that was the first instance i saw or heard the band i would have no interest in checking them out.

I liked the record but c'mon...alls they did was repeat the chorus for 2 mins and play some standard guitar fare.

It was the opening act i guess.

I guess i was still thinking about jack whites freakout last year...and hoping someone would do something like that this year...and blow it up.

Overall it was one of the worst grammys ever...performances were lame and boring.

Who all is tired of jamie foxx??

Especially jamie foxx singing....yikes.

quote:

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Originally posted by Imprezu21:
too bad franz was extremely lame at the grammys...if that was the first instance i saw or heard the band i would have no interest in checking them out.

I liked the record but c'mon...alls they did was repeat the chorus for 2 mins and play some standard guitar fare.

It was the opening act i guess.

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Oddly enough, my dad liked it. He called me after the intro and asked me who the David Bowie-esque fifth band was. He generally listens to folk and folky rock, but he liked it. I'm sending him a burn of the record...we'll see what he thinks.

I thought the opening was kind of cool, for what it was. At least FF got two minutes...it was better than seeing some bland radio pap played live.

And...when did Gwen Stefani turn from ska-punk chick to Madonna?

exactly...i guess 2 min is better than nothing...and it is the grammys.The beggining was ok.I cant stand anything from that gwen steffani album especially what was performed last night.

So of the whole intro we got like 2 minutes that were decent...the other 15 was garbage.Black eyed peas and maroon 5...woohoo...

Now that I've gotten the chance to listen to more of the Bravery, they don't seem as much like the Killers anymore. But they still aren't very good.

quote:

Originally posted by Vykromond:
Now that I've gotten the chance to listen to more of the Bravery, they don't seem as much like the Killers anymore. But they still aren't very good.

That's hilarious.

The Bloc Party CD is definitely on my radar, but I'm a little leary of Pitchfork right now. They've been giving a lot of high scores. It seems every couple of days there's a 8 or higher (although atmittedly only a few make the "Best New Music" list.)

I'm leery, too, but I think Bloc Party will be good...just not THAT good!

I had the same reservations about Franz Ferdinand, and I ended up liking it alot more than I thought I would.

Honestly, though, the Bravery tracks I've heard I like a lot more than the Bloc Party. But I think the Bravery sound like early U2 and I also think that's a good thing...

I heard the new Bravery tune. First, I can definitely understand why they would top a BBC poll for what to look for in 2005. Its pretty much what you would expect to be popular this year.

As for their sound, the singer sounds EXACTLY like Julian Casablancas. He mimics that lazy, slurring vocal style so much that many people will think they're hearing a new Strokes song.

The music is very "Killers." Its keyboard tinged New York indie rock. Its sad that the Killers are the best example of this benchmark, but I guess thats the best way to describe their style. Really there is nothing new or original at all about it, but its still a decently catchy tune.

I think we'll see three kinds of music coming out hot and heavy this year, based on what sold in 2004:

1. Dancey post-punk a la Franz Ferdinand (and others). This might include stuff that's less post-punk and more rock, like Kasabian's Stones-y stuff (maybe the Primal Scream influence comes shining through?)

2. Dancey new wave pop, a la The Killers. This will be the more radio-friendly but will also sound like FM radio circa 1984. The first time you hear it, you'll go "Was that an old song...or is it a new one?"

3. Confessional singer-songwriter stuff a la Iron and Wine and Bright Eyes and Devendra Banhart. A whole slew of disgruntled former emo kids will make their "country" albums (but none of them will be able to afford Emmylou!) and follow them with electronic doodles.

Of course, other stuff will come out (and I haven't thought about rap trends but then again...I don't know squat about rap) but I think, just like we saw a whole slew of pop-punk bands a few years ago, and then emo, and before that electronica-rock and nu-metal (where every hard rock band added a useless DJ), we'll see these three trends as part of the "sound of 2005." Of course, it's actually the sound of 2004, but we won't tell.

I agree with most of that. I think this year (even more than last) is the year indie rock goes way mainstream. Bands sounding like Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse will come out of the woodwork with cleaned up, radio friendly songs ready for mass consumption. I believe there will be a real "indie" vibe to much of the popular alternative music scene.

My verdict on the three big rock bands from the list...

The Bravery has its moments, but it feels like it's trying too hard. I like the Killers better.

Bloc Party is also trying too hard, but to be more arty and less poppy. It's fine, but I like Franz Ferdinand better.

Kaiser Chiefs are the best of the three. Great moddy pop-punk. Not trying to be too arty, nor trying to be too poppy. And they were ROCKIN' live!!!!

I listened to some songs from the Bravery...they didn't make a real impression on me. I don't even really remember what band I thought they were imitating.

Bloc Party I enjoy. It does sound like they're trying to be like other popular bands, and there is a custom-tailored-ness to it, but a few of the songs I think are very well crafted.

Kaiser Chiefs...eh. None of the songs I heard of them jived with me in any particular way. They're kind of piggy-backing on a trend. But they *are* the most likely of the group to become popular.

While I don't especially like the Bravery, I think they are the most likely to become popular. My favorite is definitely the Kaiser Chiefs. "What Did I ever Give You" and "I Predict a Riot" are the best songs...I even heard the former on the radio here in Austin the other day.