10 Bands You Must Listen To In 2009

still one of the most unjustifiably commercially underrated acts in recent memory. With the 2009 release of ‘The Crying Light’ we see The Johnsons strike an altogether more upbeat chord. The trademark melancholy is still present, yet there are moments of undeniable warmth & tenderness, far more consumer friendly than the unrepentant despondency of The Johnsons previous offerings.

5-Lisa Hannigan; Lisa Hannigan You might recognise Hannigan as the sultry songstress whose presence edified Damien Rice’s otherwise relatively insipid debut. Since her untimely departure from Rice’s backing band, Hannigan has begun to flourish as an artist in her own right, and seems all the better for it. Hannigan’s innocuous refrains instantly lift you from the unsympathetic monotony of Winter, her gentile aura enveloping you wholly. Hannigan’s latest LP, ‘Sea Sew’, will be an album to warm to during the coldest Sundays of February, while all around is frostbitten.

6-Brakes; FatCat Records Brakes are one of those delightfully abrasive bands who can effortlessly interweave soothing melodies with crashing upheaval to create a burgeoning, unstoppable monolith that one doesn’t know whether to dance to, or run away from. Currently on tour promoting their latest full-length, ‘Touchdown’, Brakes’ quirky pop idealism will undoubtedly warrant a definably brief blast in which all hearing ability will be lost, all pop sensibilities will be questioned & all non-believers will be converted.

7-Ant3lop3; DISCHORD One could argue that Ant3lop3 fit the DISCHORD paradigm perfectly; the progressive time signatures, the tortuous repetitive guitar lines & oblique world outlook, and I suppose such arguments would be right, but where Ant3lop3 really come

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