Alright, so within the first few days of being at school here in London, I purchased Q magazine, which is the UK’s biggest music magazine. While this february 2010 issue focused on Vampire Weekend’s new album, Contra, and John Lennon’s “untold story” of drugs etc, I zoomed in on the articles “New to Q Presents The Faces of 2010” and “Review New Albums.” In a list, the ones I found quite exciting were:

1. Two Door Cinema Club (indie/electronic) (I’ll be seeing them opening up for Phoenix in March!) Full of energy, this group is a Northern Ireland based electro pop band. Check out the songs “Undercover Martyn” and “I Can Talk.”

2. Next, this band called Midlake (indie/folk). From Texas, they have created a sound that is a mix between Radiohead and Fleet Foxes. Amazing, I know. I think they have a lot of work cut out for them being related to bigger bands, but they sure can create really beautiful melodies. My favorite songs of theirs that I have heard so far are “We Gathered In Spring” and “Young Bride.”

3. Broken Bells (indie rock) is another band I am truly psyched for. From good ‘ol America, it consists of the lead singer of The Shins, James Mercer, and Danger Mouse. The single they have released is called “The High Road,” and it is flippin’ good. Let’s just hope the rest of it will be as awesome, if not more.

4. The next one that was listed in Q was a band called The Drums (post punk). Straight out of Brooklyn, they are surely an upcoming band as they mature with experience. In the song “Let’s Go Surfing,” the bass-line ensues while the voice is calm and exciting at the same time.

5. Langhorne Slim (Folk/Soul/Rock). I don’t really like classifying artists, but he is a mix between Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. Check out “In The Midnight” and “Diamonds and Gold.”

6. The Crookes (Indie). They’re pretty hot, forgive me, and from Sheffield. My favorite song by them is called “By the Seine,” and it sounds like a basic UK indie band song, but this one has a little Beirut-ian edge to them, if you will.

7. Finally, the band Delphic (Indie/Electronic) is apparently all the rage here, and I certainly can see why. They’re from Manchester, and just released their debut album, Acolyte. I’ve posted my favorite song of theirs from this new album up at the top. It’s called “This Momentary.” The intro is genius, in my opinion, and the techno aspect picks up after the first few words are repeated a couple of times. I really like the lyrics.

This is their album artwork for Acolyte:

cheers, millians.

Danger Mouse and Shins frontman James Mercer have just released the first single from this new side project, Broken Bells.  The result is a cool track that is really easy to vibe to and that has been on repeat throughout today.  The project allows for both artists to challenge aspects of themselves that would perhaps not fit in their primary ventures, but meld well.  Mercer expressed appreciation for this freedom. “When you’re the master of your own domain, it’s easy to fall into patterns. But with this, there was a freedom to try stuff and not worry about what it would mean for this identity I’ve created. And it just sounded cool.”

They will be releasing a 10 song self-titled debut on March 8 so check your local record store for that.  For those of you who don’t remember what a cd actually looks like, let alone a physical store that is dedicated to selling tangible music, check it out on itunes.

The band has provided the first single for free.  Enjoy.