What. The. Fuck? I go away to Edinburgh (which brought new meaning to the word "wet") then find out one of my favourite bands of the last year or so have packed it in after ONE single. Proponents of BossPop along with fellow Liverpudlians goFASTER>>, Elle s'appelle were one of the most exuberant and amazingly catchy trios about.
Oft compared to Canadian twosome Mates Of State, the thrillingly infectious synth pop of Elle S'appelle saw them release their first (and last) single, 'Little Flame' on the consistently brilliant Moshi Moshi label. And of course, their career defining appearance on KHI podcast #4 [link]. I'd even tipped them for the top this year in my Futuresounds list [link]. Talk about letting the team down. The real shame is that I never saw them live but for anyone like me, at least we can relive the good times via this BBC Radio 2 Janice Long session from earlier this year.
Announcing their split on [MySpace], Andy S'appelle indicated that he would be playing with 28 Costumes for the time being but there was no news on Lucy or Owen's future. Massive lameathon.
I didn't realise quite how long I'd been away from blogging but I'm back with my tips for 2008. Now I wasn't sure whether this was a sensible idea as I don't want to perpetuate ridiculous hype but then I realise that's basically what all mp3 bloggers do anyway! At least I've come with a more snappy title than last year's "Bands I Want To Namedrop Because They Will Become Big In 2007". Many of the bands I tipped last year are now on tipsters lists for 2008 (hello Foals, These New Puritans and Laura Marling) but hopefully my new list will prove to be a bit more successful.
Like last year there will be 12 entires but this around, I'll be tipping bands that have been hyped already (Is This The NME?), artists which have been raved about on here before (We Still Remember) as well as a bunch of new but fresh acts (First Time Lucky). So without further ado....
Vampire Weekend How fitting that it is Superbowl Sunday. This slot was going to be filled by one of the massively hyped acts from across the pond, be that Vampire Weekend, Black Kids, MGMT or Yeasayer. I think you can figure out who won that battle.
Vampire Weekend's quirky "college-rock" is complimented by African influences and with their debut album having just been released on XL in the UK, success beckons.
Alphabeat Jackson Five meets ABBA. Danish six piece Alphabeat are pure pop brilliance. They're just lots and lots of fun. New single 'Fascination' has hit written all over it and the video below shows just how much fun Alphabeat are:
Already celebrated in Denmark, they have signed to EMI in the UK, who aren't doing so well at the minute but Alphabeat are no doubt one of their big hopes for the year. They're one of mine too.
Elle S'Appelle Liverpool and its surrounding areas have produced some amazing bands in the last couple of years from Hot Club de Paris to My Amiga. Elle S'Appelle are as good as anything from Liverpool or otherwise. Appearing on Keep Hope Inside podcast#4 [link] way back in July, the S'appelles have since inflicted their wonderfully harmonious synth pop on the free world via the fantastic Moshi Moshi records.
2008 sees the bands embark on a BOSSPOP tour with one of my 2007 tips goFASTER>>, which should be an utter treat. With more singles due and maybe even an album, we can only hope 2008 brings Elle S'Appelle the success they deserve.
So that's that for part one, the next post will be following soon with more overly hyped/former KHI faves and "noob" bands. Are any of the American hyped bands going to make it at all, let alone this year in the UK? Who do you think is going to be huge in 2008? Are bands like Forward, Russia! going to step up upon their return?
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