THE HEARTBREAKS

Sounding like they belong back in 1986, The Heartbreaks do "that jangly guitar thing" a whole amount of justice. 

The comparisons to fellow Manchester bands are evident but The Heartbreaks have something else; a singer with a decent vocal range and the songs to go with it. 

This is classic indie pop at it's best and if this is anything to go by.. well then it'll make my job for scouting decent new bands a whole lot easier. 

For fans of: The Smiths, Orange Juice, Glasvegas.

WOLF GANG

London's 'Wolf Gang' have struck us like a lightning bolt to the face. Before we go on, please check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0DvJYsfYWw&feature=channel

Now, we're on the same page 'Wolf Gang' simply is Max McElligott, a man who dropped his studies for music and wants to do this forever. We don't blame him.

Just listen.

Back to Back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvOWcjYdsHQ&feature=channel

For fans of: MGMT, Jeff Buckley, Kid Adrift.

DUTCH UNCLES

This quintet are one of the brightest young groups coming out of Manchester at the minute - a city which seems to be producing more than it's fair share of talent (Everything Everything, Delphic, Egyptian Hip Hop, Hurts to name but a few)... Although they have been around for a while and already have a debut album under their belts, they are still sitting way below a lot of people's musical radars...


The aforementioned debut led them to being included in the BBCs longlist of 'ones to watch' for 2010. If latest single 'the ink' is anything to go by, then surely radio play and further success should be just round the corner...


The Ink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVmiLpZdwv0

For Fans Of - Futureheads, Hot Club De Paris, We Are Scientists


Words by Chris P

THE NEAT

The NeaT are the shining stars of the Hull music scene (not surprising when you consider most of it consists of Oasis-wannabes and musicians trapped in the 80s ska invasion). 


This may be down to the fact that most of their time is spent in our nations capital, under the guidance of the ultra-hip Cool for Cats records. As soon as the opening bars strike of their first proper recording '...Fruits' their influences are there for all to hear. 
Sounding very much like the Fall in their hayday, especially if Mark E Smith had've hailed from the other side of the Pennines, the NeaT's brand of post punk is nothing ground-breaking, but their ability to encapture listeners with the combination of quaking drumbeats and rumbling basslines is quite something to behold... Give most recent single 'In Youth Is Pleasure' a listen to catch the NeaT at their riveting best.


In Youth Is Pleasure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjQs--s4tiA


For fans of: The Fall, Pavement, Bloc Party


Words by Chris P

TANGO IN THE ATTIC

Tango in the Attic have long been lauded as Scotlands answer to Vampire Weekend, but listen closely and you'll hear a lot more subtle (and not to subtle!) differences between these young scottish rapscallions and their preppy New York counterparts.


The one big difference is the vocals which sound like Ezra Koenig would if he were brought up on a council estate in Fife, and also the themes to their tunes - 'Whiskey in the Wind', 'Sketch by Quentin Blake' & 'Jackanory', all quintessentially british. Tracks like 'Off to...' and 'Blunderground' evoke memories of fellow scots Orange Juice...
For this writer, their debut album, 'Bank Place Locomotive Society' is the highlight of a summer lacking in real 'sunny afternoon' music.
For a band that only started playing in a band because "they are shit at golf", Tango In The Attic ain't half bad....


Check out Jackanory: http://vimeo.com/5720595


For fans of: Vampire Weekend, Orange Juice, Pete and the Pirates

words by Chris P

MONA

This is the kind of band that are almost certainly going to be very big. They're obviously very clever or at least have a clever bunch of management.

Mona are a buzz band, they hadn't released or even posted a single track anywhere online until recently, and their Myspace page had over 180,000 hits before this.
We see a resemblance to The Walkmen in them, whereas other big guns hear Kings of Leon and U2. We prefer the former...

So, here's who we think will be the next to explode into commercial success, at least check them out before they start sounding a bit.. overdone.

Listen to Your Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YVY3JYgWHs

YUCK

We have a special band featured on GLAV today, their name is YUCK and we're linking you to two of their tracks.
Two members of YUCK are from Cajun Dance Party, a band who were once the hot tip in every music mag for definite success... they've now split up.

Everything looks good for YUCK though, the songs are great, the upcoming hype they're receiving is looking healthy and the drummer has one amazing afro (with a slight resemblance of Hurley from Lost.)

Firstly, check out Georgia:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HfHGURWVnU

Now check out Automatic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oLLaeQfNd8&feature=related

For fans of: Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub.

KISSES

Jesse Kivel is one half of indie-pop electro duo Kisses. He's also in a band called Princeton which sound a bit like Vampire Weekend. Princeton didn't make it on to GLAV...
The reason Kisses are an exception? because of Jesse's incredible vocals, especially on the featured track 'Bermuda'. Sounding similar to Hot Chip, this track is a perfect soundtrack to any summer.

Bermuda: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jitzcGjyW18&NR=1

For fans of: Hot Chip, Animal Collective, Belle and Sebastian

SAFARI

Gone from the 'Model Horror' days, the Hertfordshire 5-piece have reinvented themselves quite dramatically, in a good way. We've kept up with these guys for a few years, clearly talented with the ability to write a good song, the single 'Quicksand' is a clear example.

Check out the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzuCFNjeosY


For fans of: Delphic, Friendly Fires, Mystery Jets.

BEST COAST

Best Coast are a Surf-Pop trio from LA. They released their debut album in July and are receiving tons of buzz from the likes of Bill Murray and Thurston Moore who are both big fans.

Their summer sound has come at the right time, putting us all in good moods. 

Check out 'When I'm With You' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sj5_WITMpA

For fans of: Girls, Surfer Blood, Tegan & Sara

FUNERAL PARTY

Funeral Party are from LA and sound like The Rapture, If this doesn't excite you already then please read on.. 

Their single 'New York Moves to the Sound of LA' is like a breath of fresh air on a hot day. Spiked guitar sounds and loud screaming vocals, this can't get better.. and then we hear the COWBELL!

Comparisons are easily made and usually let the music down, but this is really worth taking a few minutes out of alphabetising your record collection to listen to..

We give you New York Moves to the Sound of LA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1ZR9R9LVeQ

For fans of: The Rapture, The Walkmen, Hot Hot Heat.

JAMAICA

Jamaica are a French pop band, and are made up from previous members of 'Poney Poney'. Their single 'I Think I Like U 2' is incredibly catchy, dancey and very addictive. Oh and it's also produced by Xavier from a little French outfit called Justice, and the engineer of Daft Punk. They release their debut album 'No Problem' on August 23rd.

We love it, we think you'll like it 2:
http://vimeo.com/11279889

For fans of: Phoenix, Daft Punk, Poney Poney.

SLEIGH BELLS

This American noise pop duo released their first album 'Treats' in May and have caused quite a stir on their energetic live performances alone. The duo are signed to M.I.A's 'N.E.E.T' label and don't sound too far away from her either. We were going to link to the incredible single 'Rill Rill' (Which has a blatant sample of Funkadelic's 'Can You Get To That') but we'd rather show you something else...

Check out the single 'Tell Em': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kJ05P-71gY

For fans of: M.I.A, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Crystal Castles.

HOLY FUCK

OK, so Holy Fuck aren't necessarily new but they've recently released a new album and are way up on our table for providing some of the most imaginative sounding music of this generation..

The Canadian eletronica band have released their third album entitled 'Latin', following the release of the buzz-worthy 'LP', released back in 2007. 

We find the new material a whole lot more imaginative and mature. With songs like 'Red Lights' and 'Stay Lit' which are the most impressive songs the band have ever written, they still know how to get you wanting to party. 

Check out this incredible live performance of 'Red Lights' which can be found on the new album, live from SXSW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmrXkq6W3vU

For fans of: Foals, Metronomy, Four Tet.

Grip Like A Vice

Hello!

So what's all this about?
Grip Like A Vice is a new bands and artists blog designed to give you another great way of discovering new talent around the world.
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In the meantime, thank you for visiting this page. Hope you enjoy!

GRIP LIKE A VICE