How could you beat 2008? Forget credit-crunching, the same old X Factor Christmas number one and a wet summer – music wise, we’ve never had it so good; Foals to Glasvegas, Jay-Z headlining Glastonbury to KanYe reshaping his sound. But you already knew all this. So, we’re here to guide you through to a (very) happy 2009 with some post-Christmas stocking fillers that will help you forget your bloated sprout-filled stomachs.  
 
ROGUES
Barely six months old, Rogues have already managed to wow over new fan Steve Lamaq and have supported Iglu & Hartly on their most recent tour; it’s a wonder they didn’t manage to takeover as headliners on the posturing Hollywood collective’s gigs. First getting together when bassist Frog Macintyre filled in for an ex-bass man on a couple of gigs this lot are the type of band likely to go massive overnight in 2009. Early nineties Prodigy drums shatter over tortured harmonies (in a beautiful way) on ‘Carnival’. One of the members recently noted “I think we’d like to be like The Beatles or summat…” Who knows?          

CHEEKY CHEEKY AND THE NOSEBLEEDS
Cheeky Cheeky and the Nosebleeds: silly name, great tunes; taking over Larrikin Love’s throne of ‘sounding-like-The Libertines-but-getting-away-with-it’. If you’re missing out on the likes of ‘Boy’ and ‘Give Me Your Hand’ then you’re missing out on an the next indie-pop sensations of the year. Literary references are swallowed by crashing, punk-styled cymbals; the dual vocals (reminiscent of Pete and Carl) act as the perfect tool for a group who thrive on turning real life stories of the mundane into chunky, guitar clashing indie gospels.

CHARLI XCX
If you think she’s a sweet-fuelled, bratty fashionita with a piercing voice then you’d be right. But take Charli XCX at face value and your likely to miss the point. Yes it’s loud, brash and her parents most certainly don’t get/like it but that’s why the rest of us will. Any artist who claims her name stands for ‘X-Rated Cunt X-Rated’ is worth anyone’s attention, depending on whether you want your time to be filled up with grotesque, pop monstrosities about wanting sex with
Dinosaurs (thought so.)
                                                                                    
MONGREL
Mongrel are here for change. In the same vein as The Clash, Patti Smith and Gil-Scott Heron they’re here to revolutionise the celebrity “give a fuck” culture we’re currently immersed in. Jon McClure and Brit-Hop renaissance artist Lowkey have joined forces with Britain’s best emcees and some of indie’s biggest players (Arctic Monkey’s Matt Helders adds drum beats on top of ex-Monkey Andy Nicholson’s dub step bass lines). Describing themselves as “tackling themes shied away from by mainstream musicians… a coming together of different cultures for a common cause” they certainly promise a lot. Track ‘Alphabet Assassins’ features an MC for every letter of the alphabet; ‘Barcode’ talks of the ‘big brother’ state Brown’s government is currently leading us to. On the basis of these socially aware, genre amalgams, Mongrel may define this generation.
          
KREEPS
Born out of the recent late-60s grind house sound revival, Kreeps are the best of the ‘dressed in black’ bunch. Frontman and multi-instrumentalist DK notes that “one of my best friends is a mortician… [we have] been to a lot of funerals”. With influences like that tracks such as ‘Everyone I Went to School with Is Dead’ lose the comedic nature which other, wimpy ‘punk’ bands convey. Claiming to have formed in 1959, fans of Pulp Fiction, The Warriors and 80s Matchbox B-Line Disaster will feel at home – Faris Rotter notes himself as a fan, spinning their tracks into his DJ sets. With DK “a member of a Detroit based gang… (he even has the gang tattoo)” the Americana rock’n’roll ethics ring true.
“We definitely love that Grind House vibe,” DK says, “We're a gang of misfits, misanthropes and awkward agoraphobics.” With plans to tour again in ‘09, a continuation of their Samurai FM radio show and a possible film soundtrack this is one band which will influence your innocent cousin into becoming a ‘child of the devil’ which your parents find distasteful. Loud, brash, angry and surrounded by Dick Dale records and the ghost of Jim Morrison; this is one set of Kreeps you’ll be itching to get close to in 2009.

PLAYDOE
Playdoe are one of the brightest, hippest and most exciting new hip-hop duos on the planet. Consisting of Sibot (AKA DJ Fuck) and MC Spoek, ‘Doe are based in South Africa’s infamous Johannesburg. Spoek says, “[Johannesburg has] a cool mash of culture...even just in terms of South African black people, it’s a place of Zulus, Sothos, Xhosas… all mashed and mixed.” Sibot says, “To be honest I was very embarrassed for my country [when I was a kid]. I couldn't believe I had come from a country with such a fucked up history.”
Hip-hop has a knack for thriving in the infamous parts of Western society. You have the sense that Playdoe could be another guns’n’bling affair out for the dollar. Yet DJ Fuck’s relentlessly original beats (“sometimes he'll throw bricks at his car for that club siren noise”) and Spoek’s old school-styled rhymes mean that instead of being a laborious listen, Playdoe are fun. Of Spoek’s rhyming, “That’s kind of my fault,” Sibot claims. “One day in the studio… I kept pushing him into an old school flow, it was so funny and I like to laugh so he kept doing it... now he's fucked, he forgot how to rap new school.”  The ‘Toxic Avenger Remix’ (on their MySpace) beats Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris for the ‘club/hip-hop cross-over track of the year’ title. In their live shows back in Johannesburg, “We had a pyramid with a laser coming out its eye ball.” Spoek speaks of how he felt when he first heard hip-hop. “[I enjoyed] the taboo, fun and naivety of it.” Playdoe may sound naïve but rest assured, with Spoek spitting about social depravation and a lack of life chances from one of the most lawless cities in Africa on top of some of the best new beats in the business, ‘Doe are anything but silly and when everyone eventually hears them they’ll be excited indeed.        
 
DAN BLACK
‘HYPNTZ’ was a great example of how the 21st century should sound; an electronic (it was made on an Apple Mac in Black’s bedroom), pop-genre molesting, yet soulful dance track. The B-Side ‘TTTT’ was also a lesson in subtle, electro brilliance, but the original demo was restricted to just fifty copies. Now, backed by a major label and in the early stages of mixing his debut (which will feature tracks ‘Ecstasy’, ‘Polar Bears’ and ‘Junk Food’) Dan Black is ready to fulfil the prophesy which the likes of Zane Lowe were making about his future prospects earlier this year. “[I feel] more empowered in some ways [now signed to A&M]… I certainly feel I am needing to step up my game, but hey, bring it on baby!” Black’s certainly optimistic, as the large soundscape of ’WONDER’ proves. Recent single ‘Yours’ is a stepping stone between his early demos and the up-coming album; and while likes of ‘HYPNTZ’ used blatant samples (Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ drum beat, for instance) Dan promises, “Either the samples are mangled out of all recognition, are very obscure or I made them totally from scratch myself,” on the album. With himself tied to his studio in the coming months in order to get the album prepared, ready yourself for an onslaught in 2009 of gig and festival dates and new recordings. So far it sounds like all the Radio 1 prophesising will ring true by twenty-ten.  
 
So, 2009; from hip-hop hipsters to genre crossing rebels, electro girls and boys making a racket alongside the next indie pop superstars. Watch out, they’re coming up and on the basis of these acts, 2008 may just be beaten.

Text by Nicholas Burman. Also published on the Same Teens XOX blog here.