Ones To Watch 2010
Last year we saw the likes of Florence and the Machine, The Temper Trap, Passion Pit, Mumford and Sons... (we could go on - but we won't) emerge onto the vast indie scene and produce massive records forcing us to happily appreciate the beauty of their craft.
Such great bands have inspired us to look into the FemaleFirst crystal ball and predict what names we will be hearing a lot of in 2010...
Two Door Cinema Club
We can't really remember when anything this good came out of Wales without forcing deep, unnecessary comparisons with the likes of Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey, but here are three indie tykes from Bangor making quirky, up-tempo, electro beats.
Their music has been likened to Death Cab for Cutie, Broken Social Scene and The Shins with guitar rifts that have been described as 'oceanic' and their rhythm described as 'pulsing'.
They have just launched their debut EP "Four Words To Stand On," but don't expect to hear too much from them in early 2010, these boys are too busy touring the world until March when they touch ground back in England - and we can't wait.
Ellie Goulding
The likes of 2010's pop charts will eat her up for dinner - 23-year-old sweetheart Ellie Goulding will be top of the list as one of the most new and exciting acts of this year - even Perez Hilton has blogged about her.
Here we are hoping that she will be leading the indie charts towards unpretentious with producer and bandmate Starsmith (who has also worked with Marina and The Diamonds - see below). Bizarrely enough she has been compared to the likes of Bon Iver, Buriel, Bjork, Imogen Heap and even Beyonce.
Make sure you check the remix of her latest single 'Under The Sheets' from dubstep duo She Is Danger and her cover of Passion Pit's 'Sleepyhead.'
Delphic
Sometimes we get a bit bored when we hear of yet another indie band hailing from the Manchester music scene trying to make it in this mainstream indie malarky, but as much as Manchester does have an amazing history of making music it's usually nowerdays only for guitar bands like The Courteeners.
Delphic are a Manchester quartet that have gone back to the roots of what made Manchester famous - mixing dance and rock music. The boys said: "We see it as our job to put dance music back on the map. We want to make music for massive warehouse parties."
They have been compared to the likes of New Order, The Klaxons and White Lies. We salute them for the possible revival of 80s 'mad-chester.'
Elephants
Kent based four-piece Elephants have only been going since late 2008 but certainly seem to be making up for lost time and are pacing ahead in gaining an army of admiring fans and followers. Including Radio 1 DJs Steve Lemacq and Huw Stephens who quickly snapped them up as ones to watch 2009 and picked them to play Radio 1's Big Weekend 2009 - not bad for a band that had been going less than a year.
Elephants are like one of those child prodigies or genius kids you see in a Channel Four documentary, they have too much talent then they know what to do with - check out their single 'Alexander.'
Ou Est Le Swimming Pool
We know what you're thinking, what's with the name? Are these one of these try-hard indie bands that try to be different by having a quirky name? Although they are curiously named, it is Ou Est Le Swimming Pool's live shows that received all the attention in 2009.
They stormed the crowds at Glastonbury and have built up a reputation for being one of the most exciting live bands of the moment.
The band consists of three members all hailing from North London, with influences coming from the Pet Shop Boys and Duran Duran it seems that 80s electro pop is making a big comeback in 2010.
French Horn Rebellion
The new MGMT for 2010 - well we haven't heard from them in a while so there's plenty of room for another electronic pop duo on the scene - consists of two brothers from Brooklyn, New York.
They are two very bizarre and cosmic electro partners who refuse to jump on any musical bandwagon and are producing tracks that are being raved about all over the internet, including, "Up All Night," and "Beaches And Friends," they are also the produces of perhaps MGMT's most famous track, "Time To Pretend."
But enough about MGMT, we say bring on French Horn Rebellion!
Marina and the Diamonds
Not content to comform to the on-trend sound of the moment, Greek/Welsh Maria Diamondis is determined to succeed on her own terms. Her debut LP has been described more of a fully formed piece of art than your bog standard indie CD.
She has spent the last year playing at every festival possible and making a name for herself so that she is now ready to step into the well-deserved spotlight of 2010 announcing the release of her album will be available for this February.
The 24-year-old has been hailed as the new Kate Bush with hints of Katie Perry and La Roux, she has produced and written every song on the album and we couldn't be more excited if we tried.
Daisy Dares You
Possibly the youngest feature in our ones to watch, Daisy Dares you is 16-year-old Daisy Coburn from Essex. Pop rocker Daisy has been hailed as the British Avril Lavigne, but we don't like this title much, we don't see her much like Avril Lavigne at all- Daisy pens her own songs and plays two instruments, and has much better fashion sense (she can wear a bowler hat and look cool).
Although lyrics maybe similar - they are about friendship and fancying boys. However, there must be something special about little Daisy, she sparked a bidding war between record companies and features chart-topper Chipmunk on her debut single.
We like her, she seems cool - expect big club remixes coming from Daisy Dares You - La Roux-esque.
Goldhawks
Goldhawks present a different sound to any featured on the page, they infuse the folk, rhythm and blues of Americana with a British flavour - making 'epic' music - as described by the band members themselves.
Named after the West London Street they grew up on, their debut single was released last month, "Running Away," and March 2010 will see the release of their debut album.
They already have famous indie pals having performed alongside the Maccabees and Maximo Park. These are boys who are going to high places, watch out for them in 2010.
Female First
Jennifer Dixon