Jean Michel Jarre & Little Boots - If..! (Video)

It was with some sense of nervous trepidation that we pressed play on the new collaboration between Little Boots and Jean Michel Jarre. Little Boots is the artist we've written more about than any other on this blog and with Jarre, albums like Oxygene, Equinox, Zoolook, Magnetic Fields and Rendez-Vous hold a very special place in our heart. Kraftwerk is often held up as being the pioneering band of all the early electronic acts, but the sounds, textures and ideas that Jarre was using as far back as 1976 also still resonate today. Maybe Jarre isn’t talked about in such revered tones as Kraftwerk because he wasn’t considered as ‘cool’ as Kraftwerk? 

Well f*ck ‘cool’, f*ck whatever preconceived ideas you have of Jarre or even Little Boots (it seems some that some Jarre purists are a little upset about this song because for them, it’s too poppy and features vocals), because as far as we’re concerned If..! is a rather excellent piece of pop music. It sounds like Chvrches with an extra shot of extra bubble gum flavour, and frankly that’s no bad thing. Well done everyone involved. 

No idea about the video though.

Jean Michel Jarre - If..!

Little Boots - Working Girl

Always ready to do business, yesterday Victoria Hesketh aka Little Boots dropped the title track of her forthcoming third album onto the world wide web. Working Girl continues the ideas that Victoria has been addressing of late, namely her position within the music industry: “Struck a deal, paid a price, are you worth it?” she questions, over a classy mid-pace house pop groove, her vocal delivery sounding a little like Sarah Cracknell from St Etienne.  Turn up the strobes and the dry ice for this one as you slink your way across the floor to have a groove round your hand bag (or should that be briefcase?) Excellent stuff again from the artist we’ve featured more times than any other on Breaking More Waves. 

Little Boots - Working Girl

Little Boots - Better In The Morning (Video)

Here at Breaking More Waves we will always argue long and hard that pop music is never just about the music. Visual imagery is as vital to the art of pop as the song itself. Of course, the song has to be great, but it’s even better if it’s wrapped up in a bigger package that provides greater context. It’s a discussion we’ve had with many writers, bloggers and music fans over the years and it usually ends up (with writers) going something like this.

Them: “No we don’t care what an artist looks like or how they present themselves, we just write about good music.”

Us:  “So why do you put pictures of the artist on your blog when you write about them if what they look like isn’t important?”

Them: “Um……”

This is why we’re so enthused about Little Boots third album. Sure the songs are sounding great, but the whole visual concept is brilliant, linking the context of the lyrics to very stylish and distinct imagery that also relates to Victoria Hesketh’s own position of having to work hard to survive as being an independent musician. There’s GIF styling, shades of pastel and beige and proper high class Yuppie chic as Little Boots becomes the working girl who probably woke up on someone else’s sofa (or in a strangers bed) and is now hitting the office hiding the hangover. 

The next Little Boots album, Working Girl, will be released on the 10th July.

Little Boots - Better In The Morning (Video)

Little Boots - Better In The Morning

If you’ve ever downed six double vodka and cokes, danced your arse off in a trashy nightclub, snogged a random that you'll never see again, stumbled out of the taxi and collapsed into bed fully clothed, possibly covered in your own vomit, at four in the morning, we wonder if you’d agree with Little Boots’ sentiments on her new song, Better In The Morning, which she’s been teasing for a few days now? 

“Trying to remember, but the night already fades. Lost track of the time, I never meant to make you wait. Even though you weren't around, my phone says you were calling. Try to shake it off, it's always better in the morning,” she sings casually over a laid back electronic disco groove, reminding us a little of early Madonna as well as more modern contemporaries such as Shura and Ronika. She works it well, with hooky do-do-dos and a tune that will enable you to shrug off any hangover. It's dance pop music with a coating of grace and softness rather than your typical IN DA CLUB shouty banger; the equivalent of a well made coffee and croissants rather than shots and a kebab.

Little Boots - Better In The Morning

Little Boots - Taste It (Video)

We previously posted about how we’d quite like it if Victoria Hesketh, for the promotion of her next album, would get out on the road a little and play a few shows, particularly in Portsmouth or Brighton on the south coast near us, even offering to cook her tea for her or put her up for the night to keep her tour costs down. However, having seen this new video for Taste It we might need to revoke that suggestion. After all if Victoria enjoys a nice glass of red wine (made from blood) or a human foot burger, we’re not really sure if we’d be the right person to cook for her. Pink champagne with an extra pinky anyone? No we thought not.

The video was directed by Ish Sahotay. "Whether it's vanity, money, success, escapism, body image, or more abstract notions, Taste It is about that feeling of always wanting more even if we know it's bad for us,” Little Boots says of the video.

No models were harmed in the making of this colourful Generation Game styled conveyor belt video you'll be pleased to hear.

And one final thought - anyone remember the New In Town video? It seemed very awkward didn't it? This, despite the cannibalism doesn't.

Little Booots - Taste It (Video)

Little Boots - Taste It

For those who have dismissed Little Boots for sounding a little too retro-synth (LP1) or 90's dance influenced (LP2) think again. For new tune Taste It, from a forthcoming EP Business Pleasure, (we’re liking the pin striped power dressing going on here in the press shot to accompany the EP’s title) is a decidedly modern beats and bass led track, that if it had been released by Grimes (at a push we'd say there’s a bit of a similarity in some of the background ‘ahhh-ahhh’ vocal delivery) would have quite possibly had the internet salivating like a rabid dog. 

However, Little Boots is in arguably a much better place now, with less heavy expectation and hype placed on her shoulders and much more control of her output. The disappointing thing about the fact that she’s no longer the slave of a major record label is that there's less chance of a full Little Boots UK tour, but we live in hope. Come on Victoria, a Portsmouth or Brighton show would be lovely, you could even come to our house for tea if you’re a bit skint and hungry. In the meantime we’ll happily settle for you singing food similes rather than eating the stuff: “Can you taste it on your lips like liquorice? Do want some more so bittersweet?” It sounds like whoever she's singing about might be going back for more....

Little Boots - Taste It

24 Hour Blogathon : Little Boots - Live @ Heaven, London

Last November Breaking More Waves attended London’s Heaven club for a special Little Boots live show, where Victoria Hesketh wore her cyber Cinderella dress designed by Michelle Wu. The moment the dress was turned on received one of the biggest cheers of the evening and seemed to transform the gig into a real celebration. Now Little Boots has uploaded a clip of the gig (which was fully recorded and available to buy as a live album after the show) to You Tube. It contains clips of the songs Remedy and Shake, with a slightly suspect edit joining them. No dodgy mobile phone footage here thankfully.

Little Boots - Live at Heaven November 2013



This blog post is one of a series published as part of Breaking More Waves non-stop 24 hour Blogathon to raise money for Cancer Research UK. If you have read this post and enjoyed it or the music we’d really appreciate it if you would donate £2 to Cancer Research using the button below.

Albums of the Year 2013 #11 - Little Boots - Nocturnes

In an ideal world Breaking More Waves annual Ones to Watch feature would work like this:

1. We name an artist as One to Watch for a particular year.

2. The artist in question releases an album in the following 12 months.

3. We name the album as one of our favourites in the albums of the year list feature.

Back in 2008, we named Little Boots as One to Watch in 2009. That year she released Hands. It didn’t feature on our end of year list.

It’s taken until 2013 for a Little Boots album (her second) to get there. Better late than never.

Having parted ways with her record label Victoria Hesketh returned to the neon lit dance floors for Nocturnes. There she found the songs to create a highly sophisticated dance pop album. Nocturnes is an album of hypnotic grooves, catchy hooks and enough variety to maintain its momentum, yet it always feels wholly consistent as a piece of work. In short it's rather good.

From the dark pulses and throbs of Motorway (listen to it on headphones for full effect) to the closing slinky euphoric call of Satellite, Nocturnes is an album to put on when you want to feel alive. You don’t need the strobes and dry ice of the dancefloor to enjoy it though, it’s perfect for those hairbrush in hand, bedroom mirror moments as well. 

For those who wrote off Little Boots after the initial hype and who haven’t heard Nocturnes, we highly recommend you reacquaint yourself with Miss Hesketh. Another victory for good pop in the war over bad pop. Our eleventh favourite of 2013.

Little Boots - Satellite (Video)

Little Boots - Satellite (Video)

So here’s one of our favourite songs from our favourite Little Boots LP so far. OK there’s only been two Little Boots LPs, but in the world of pop and the ever quicker turnover of the internet where one duff song can not only lead to the curtains being closed on the window of opportunity, but the shutters being pulled shut, locked, and bolted and the key thrown away, releasing two albums is actually quite an achievement, especially when you’ve parted ways with your label. It might have been easier for Little Boots to disappear, rebrand herself and come back under another identity (probably a mysterious one until THE BIG REVEAL) but thankfully Little Boots is still Little Boots and Satellite is still a corker.

Satellite finds the Vickster returning to her home town of Blackpool where she co-directed this video in the towns historic Tower Ballroom Besides the video there's also this rather chilled house remix of the song from remix competition winners MDNGHT.

Little Boots - Satellite (Video)

Little Boots - Satellite (MDNGHT Remix)

Little Boots - All For You (Acoustic)

The last time we featured Little Boots on Breaking More Waves we were rather hopeful that her second album was going to deliver. It did. Most importantly, unlike her debut Hands it works as a consistent and singular piece of work, bringing a twilight dance floor sound that is both minimally cinematic and yet full pop hooks. It manages to be both darkly sophisticated and yet full of neon lit insistent hooks all at the same time.

Add to that her part live / part DJ / part remix project - Little Boots Discotheque - which recently turned the Pussy Parlure Nouveau tent at Glastonbury festival into an ecstatic hands in the air rave-off for fans (see picture above) and you have a musical sum that scores high. We think it’s fair to say that whilst the hype mongers and next big thing crew have long deserted when she didn’t fully match up to their expectations on album one, those of us who have stuck around have finally been well rewarded.

Now after the synths, the laptops, the keytars and the tenori-on’s Little Boots takes things back to the core with this live acoustic version of album track All For You recorded in the Union Chapel, London. “The song is one of the most personal on the album, I wrote it with Andy Butler from Hercules and Love Affair and was inspired by some of my favourite artists like Kate Bush and The Pet Shop Boys,” says The Vickster of the track. This is audio heaven. We heart Little Boots.

Little Boots - All For You (Acoustic Live Video)

Little Boots - Broken Record

Whilst Little Boots debut LP Hands hit the target more than it missed, when it missed it did so by some margin. Whoever decided that New in Town and the atrocious video that accompanied it was a wise move as a lead single needs (or needed) a thorough talking to. Since that time the Vickster has talked about how Hands was a case of too many cooks (or in this case producers) spoiling the broth. Just when will record labels learn that nearly all the best albums have just one producer? Can you imagine a film where each scene had a different director? It just doesn’t work and it doesn’t work for music either. (Exception to the rule: Greatest Hits albums)

And so to album two, which promises a much more singular vision; focussing on pure hooky pop song writing, contained production and night time electronic flavours, it seems that this time round Little Boots knows exactly what she wants to do and is taking control with captain Tim Goldsworthy leading the studio charge. We recently heard the sweetly perfect calm pop soundscapes of opening track Motorway and now here’s another. Broken Record (which at the time of writing just streams on You Tube) is quite literally a throbbing-disco-candy-stick-hip-thruster of a song with bells on. Quite literally. Ding dong.

Little Boots - Broken Record

Little Boots - Motorway

From Kraftwerk (Autobahn) to St Etienne (Like A Motorway) to bald rave funsters Orbital naming themselves after the never ending M25, motorways and electronic pop music have always had a pretty good relationship. Rather like a stolen road traffic cone in a student’s bedroom that statement may sound pretty pointless, but that’s sometimes the way music rolls. It’s irrelevant to some, but bloody important to others. Right now we’re that drunken college kid lugging home that traffic cone; it’s really significant to us.

Here’s why; because yesterday the Vickster aka Little Boots aka Victoria Hesketh grabbed the keys and put her foot down on a piece of automobile related magic. It was always going to come wasn’t it? After all this is a woman whose surname also applies itself to a 1970’s formula one racing car team. It’s basically in her blood.

Taken from her forthcoming May released second LP Nocturnes which has been produced with the likes of DFA’s Tim Goldsworthy, Simian Mobile Disco’s James Ford and Hercules and the Love Affair’s Andy Butler, Motorway is a gorgeously subtle and hypnotic piece of perfect pop music. It reaffirms our love for Little Boots and having road tested the song in our car last night we can confirm that it works better than any of those dad-rock driving compilation albums you can pick up in your local petrol filling station store. 

Now the question is will UK radio actually bother to play this song? Despite putting out way better than average tracks during the lengthly build up to the album (Every Night I Say A Prayer, Headphones, Shake) the idiots gods of radio playlisting seem to have decreed that the Vickster is no longer worthy of our ears. They are of course very wrong. Right ?

You can download Motorway for free by clicking here and giving your email address.

Little Boots - Motorway

Little Boots - Smalltown Boy

Bronski Beat’s Smalltown Boy is one of Breaking More Waves all-time favourite songs. One of the bands defining moments, it tells the tale of a young man leaving the parental nest because the “Answers you seek will never be found at home.” This song and this band were incredibly important in opening up gay and politicised pop culture to the mainstream. Bronski Beat was probably one of the first bands to make us think that pop music could be and could do so much more than just be escapist entertainment to dance to (whilst still being able to dance to it), in much the same way as band like The Clash did for many of their fans in the 1970’s. (Read more of our thoughts and the full context of this song on a previous blog post here)

So today when we discovered that Little Boots (who we recently posted about here with regard to her rather haphazard and confusing campaign of releases and promotion) had covered the song and thrown it onto the internet we pressed play with nervous trepidation. Was one of our favourite synth pop ladies about to destroy one of our favourite synth pop songs?

The answer is a resounding no. Little Boots take on the song is absolutely perfect. Her voice is sublime, the euphoric disco-house pump of the music is electrifying and frankly this pretty much equals the original in every respect. The landscape for homosexual men may be very different from when Bronski Beat first released this but Smalltown Boy still resonates deeply.

Smalltown Boy is taken from a covers compilation album, Ministry Of Sound Uncovered Vol 4, but really it's too damn good to just be an album track. Come on Victoria – put this out as a proper big single and grab yourself a proper chart hit.

Little Boots - Smalltown Boy

Why Little Boots Is Confusing Us

We’re a bit confused about Little Boots right now.

Most established artists on a record label have some sort of campaign / strategy behind them leading up to the release of an album. Yet with Little Boots it all seems strangely haphazard, as if she’s an unsigned act with no overall vision of where she’s going, throwing things out there as and when she feels like it. Shake, Headphones and Every Night I Say A Prayer were way better than average disco pop songs (if we were marking them out of 10 Shake would get 7, Headphones 8 and Every Night I Say A Prayer an 8.25) but all of them were given a low-key releases as if any attempt to get into the charts or playlisted on the radio would be seen as damaging.

A short while ago she tossed out a rough demo of another new song called Babyface – not the kind of action your typical difficult second album artist on a major label would normally do although she did write on her tumblr  “I will probably get made to take this down any minute but its Friday so sod it what’s the worst that can happen etc. I’m kind of bored of doing what I’m supposed to lolz.” Actually we’d rather she hadn’t put that one out, because our score sheet only gave it 4.5. Before that, earlier this year there was (a rather brilliant) one off show at Xoyo in London on her birthday which (of course) included a spontaneous rendition of Happy Birthday from the audience. And then there’s the mix tapes (which aren’t really tapes at all, but Soundcloud embeds / streams) of which she has now done several. You can find them here.

Yesterday Little Boots put another new mix tape up on line. It’s called the LITTLEBOOTSWELOVEMIX which we guess is called as such because tonight Little Boots is DJing in Ibiza at the We Love Space closing fiesta. We very much hope that she simply hasn’t recorded this, burnt it onto a CD and taken it with her to play whilst pretending to mix the tracks live, because technically that would be very naughty and cheating. So if you’re reading this Victoria (which of course you’re not but we can live in hope) as much as we love you, remember we cannot condone a cheat. (Although ultimately it’s about the tunes - not what knobs, faders and buttons the DJ is pressing). We’re streaming the LITTLEBOOTSWELOVEMIX below just on the off chance that someone reading this is in Ibiza tonight. If you are and you’re going to see Little Boots DJ, let us know if her set is identical.

So we’ve had plenty of new material from the Vickster, yet to the vast majority of the mainstream public Little Boots is a name that is rapidly fading from memory. Maybe this is where Little Boots wants to be – more of a credible electronic disco pop girl with a few DJ skills than a mainstream chart act. Back in 2008 we said “she’s fifty per cent cool, gaining rave reviews in a whole variety of dance and fashion magazines and fifty per cent geek, posting up videos of herself doing cover versions in her bedroom.” Maybe that’s still where and what she is; a mixture of cool and geek, not a chart girl or Sound of 2000-and-anything. Maybe this is why she’s just throwing music and mix tapes out willy-nilly. Maybe there is a strategy / maybe there isn’t. But irrespective of her or her label’s apparent lack of plan or control, let’s just be thankful that (demo of Babyface excepted) Little Boots is still giving us some tunes. 

Little Boots - LITTLEBOOTSWELOVEMIX

Little Boots - Headphones

Yesterday on the blog there was the remix. Today here comes the real thing. A proper danceable sounds-like-it-should-be-a-hit-if-only-radio-would-play-it pop song. This is Little Boots redefining her position from geeky synth pop girl to something a little closer to the likes of Kylie, Sophie Ellis Bextor etc etc. Expect a big new gay audience and maybe a bit of a cult following rather than the mass audience that winning the BBC Sound of 2009 poll expectation suggested.

Just imagine how good it would be if we all went down to the worst fart and lager stinking indie club, where the DJ is still playing The Kooks or The Pigeon Detectives, insisting that Take Her Back is the best song of the previous decade. We'd be armed with  iPods and headphones and the moment the DJ played Eddie's Gun or Golden Touch we'd all put the headphones on and blast this out instead?

As the Vickster says, let’s all dance to the beat in our head. This is Headphones by Little Boots

Little Boots - Headphones

Little Boots - Headphones (Todd Edwards Remix) + Mix Tape

In the 80’s it wasn’t uncommon for an artist to release a new single as 12” extended version to the clubs (or discos as they were more commonly known then) before the standard 7” went to radio. The idea was broadly along the lines that by the time radio DJ’s started playing the song those listening would recognise it from their nights out on the town and that the familiarity with the song was more likely to make the listener warm to the track, like it and buy it.

Whilst the internet has slowed down change in pop music (see here for an explanation of that) the time we spend with any one record before moving on to the next seems to have sped up. It’s probably the reason why these days it’s more common for the artist to release the single proper first and then follow it up with a slew of remixes – to keep interest going that little bit longer.

So it makes a welcome change for Little Boots to do it the other way round. Forthcoming single Headphones is a hip-shaking-sing-a-long blinder, but before we get to that she drops this dance floor friendly remix from Todd Edwards and brings back the word disco as well. Following on from Shake and Every Night I Say A Prayer Little Boots has got us grooving all over again; this old school club vibe suits her. We also hear rumours of another remix floating round somewhere by another Breaking More Waves favourite disco dolly Ronika; now that’s what we call exciting.

Besides the remix there’s also a rather splendid near 43 minute ‘Jubilee Mix Tape’ from the Vixter for you to thrust your hips to this weekend, so grab that while you can. It’s free to download.

Little Boots - Headphones (Todd Edwards Remix)



Little Boots - Jubilee Mix Tape

Little Boots - Every Night I Say A Prayer (Video)

Of all the artists we’ve featured since Breaking More Waves was born on the internet Little Boots is the one that we’ve posted about the most. This is probably because as a female keyboard playing vocalist doing accessible but occasionally slightly wonky pop music she ticks all of our boxes, but also because as much as we love Little Boots she doesn’t always quite get things right (or in other words, meet our expectations) and it gives us something to write about.

The euphoric dance pop anthem Every Night I Say A Prayer got things 100% right, so much so that if there was a Breaking More Waves pop chart, Little Boots would be a new entry at no.1. Now after streaming the song a few days ago Victoria Hesketh (the only pop star we can think of that was maybe named after a 1970’s formula one racing car) has revealed a video for the song. In some shots Victoria (or the Vickster as she shall now be known) appears to be wearing a dress far too short for her (so that’s one for the boys and gay girls) and there is lots of quite ludicrous arty dancing going on by rather lithe young men (so that’s one for the girls and gay guys.) So not only is The Vixter making a good pop tune these days, but she’s keeping everyone happy visually.

Well done The Vickster. Good work. Keep it up etc etc etc. 

Keep an eye out for excited 140 character messages on twitter this Friday from us, as we watch Little Boots perform in London.

Little Boots - Every Night I Say A Prayer (Video)

Little Boots - Every Night I Say A Prayer

Earlier today we posted about Victoria (a new band) and suggested that this blog isn’t about girls. To a certain extent this was a lie; for there’s no doubt that we post a lot of music with female singers. In fact Hype Machine lists one of our main tags as female vocalists. Female is not a genre of music, but there’s absolutely no doubt that we often find the female tone more enamouring than the male one many a time.

So this is about Victoria, girls and blog posts. 

Once upon a time there was this particular girl called Victoria. She was pretty A.M.A.Z.I.N.G at the start. We had one of her songs quite literally stuck on repeat. When we used to feature live reviews on the blog we got very excited about her. But then it seemed to fizzle out, like some relationships do. It wasn’t just a 'it’s not you it’s me' moment, we think a third party had to take some blame as well. The release of New In Town as a ‘big single’ and the accompanying video were seriously misguided decisions by her record label. The not-so-huge commercial success of the song and the subsequent album (which was largely a decent record, just with the odd filler track) led to talk of the ‘curse of the BBC Sound of List’ which young Victoria had topped. By summer 2009 we were panicking that Victoria might go to desperate measures to achieve wider public success – would a lad-mag boobs out cover be on the horizon, or maybe an appearance on some low grade celebrity reality show?

Thankfully Victoria / Vicki / the Vickster didn’t do any of this and instead took herself away, spent some time in her garden (or whatever it is pop stars do when they’re not being pop stars) and continued making music. After all Lady V had already grown thick skin after auditioning for X-Factor and not making it through when she was a teenager. Not being a star of Ga-Ga-esque proportions probably wasn’t going to bother her, or was even on her agenda in the first place.

Then last November came Shake. It was a very good rubbery sounding dance record. She was back in business in our book. Now comes Every Night I Say A Prayer, another disco belter complete with euphoric hooky chorus, seductive 90’s house bassline and hands in the air piano tinkering. It is also very good.

For the second time today, we say hail Victoria. It’s good to have you back Little Boots. 

Little Boots - Every Night I Say A Prayer (Free Download)

Little Boots - Shake

Remember the BBC Sound of 2009 list? When Little Boots found herself at number 1 she was hailed as the future of synth-pop and all things female and electronica? As it happens she didn’t quite become that and a certain Lady Ga Ga, who featured lower on the list ran away with pretty much everything. Here at Breaking More Waves we’ve always preferred Little Boots to the Ga Ga though. It was disappointing that her record company didn’t capitalise quickly enough on the BBC poll at a time - when Little Boots gave interviews afterwards it seemed that simply her or her label didn’t expect to top the poll and weren’t ready. By the time Victoria did get round to releasing ‘the big single’ momentum was lost, and the so-so New In Town stalled outside the Top 10 singles in the UK with a video concept that didn’t work for Victoria’s personality and a very average song.

Today however came the discotastic news that Little Boots is back. You’ve probably heard the mix tape that she put out a week or so ago, but now here she is, sashaying her way to the dance floor with Shake. Kylie, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, watch out the girl’s back for a second bite at your crowns and this one sounds good - like St Etienne gone clubbing. Rubbery sounding bass lines, hooky la la la’s, hands in the air synth progressions are all there, all it needs now are lasers, strobes and a flashing dance floor and it will be a massive celebration. Here are the radio edits and full dancefloor versions of the song for your weekend enjoyment.

Everybody shake till your heart breaks. Yeah!

Little Boots - SHAKE (Radio Edit) by LittleBoots

Little Boots - SHAKE by LittleBoots

Ones To Watch - How Did We Do ?

It’s almost December. Which means it’s time for a look back as well as a look forward. Over the next month we’ll be blogging our way through our favourite ten albums of the year as well as listing ten artists that we believe could be ones to watch in 2010.

In a change from 2008 we’re going to start with a look forward. The reason being that last year just as we began publishing our list of Ones To Watch the BBC went and published their Sound of 2009 list earlier than normal. To our surprise six of the artists we had chosen were in the BBC’s long list of fifteen. So this year to avoid any criticism of just copying the BBC list we’re making sure our list appears early. Mind you this year we actually had a tiny influence over the BBC list as we were asked by the BBC to be one of the participating voters in their Sound of 2010 poll. We're not sure how many bloggers get asked to participate, we know of at least one other (a list of those who voted will appear on the BBC website soon) but we guess it's a bit of an honour, effectively being recognised as having some degree of expertise in new music. The three artists we voted for in the BBC poll feature in our own list of ten, but we'll leave you to see if you can guess which three we voted for.

Not that we expect all of our list to be the same as the BBC list, particularly as some artists such as Marina and the Diamonds, who we fully expect to be on the BBC list, don't qualify for our list (read next Mondays blog for our explanation of why).

But before the gate opens, let’s have a quick recap of our Ones To Watch 2009 list and see how they fared.

#1 La Roux

We said “What sets her apart from a multitude of dance floor kids is a pop sensibility that knows how to deliver a half decent tune.”

In For The Kill became a genuine pop phenomenon, slowly climbing from number 11 to number 2 in the singles chart, whilst Bulletproof went one better. The eponymous debut album went to number 2 in the UK, 7 in Ireland and 8 in Canada.

#2 Little Boots

We said “Little Boots is exactly what we want our pop stars to be.”

Little Boots topped the BBC Sound of List but failed to capitalise on its exposure, finally releasing the very average New in Town in May which went top 20. The album Hands entered the charts at number 5 but quickly fell away, only re-entering the lower reaches of the Top 40 when the far superior Remedy was released as a single. The initial quirky charm that we heard on Stuck On Repeat and saw on her bedroom You Tube cover versions seemed somewhat diluted by the end of the year, but if her record company keep going with her we still think there is possible unfulfilled potential.

#3 Passion Pit

We said “They will bring a lot of smiles, and if there is any justice Sleepyhead will be one of the songs of next year in the UK.”

Sleepyhead was never released as a major label single in its own right in the UK, (there is no justice) and although the band didn‘t achieve commercial highs, their debut album Manners received much critical acclaim and charted at number 55. The band grew as a live act during the course of the year, playing bigger shows as the year progressed, plus there were several festival appearances including the main stage at Bestival.

#4 Giantess

We said “It’s very early days for this band but Breaking More Waves reckons their Myspace friend count will soon be on the way up.”

The band renamed themselves Yes Giantess, put out a white vinyl 7" single, supported Little Boots in the U.S and were picked to play on the NME Radar Tour in the UK in October. They’ve recently been recording with a number of big name producers including Pascal Gabriel (Ladyhawke, Dido, Little Boots, Kylie) in France and have had some major label interest. In November one of their number (Karl) announced he was to leave the band, his parting gift a superb downloadable mix tape. Yes Giantess continue into 2010. Their Myspace friend count has indeed risen significantly since we first wrote about the band and they have a bag of big tunes ready to go including that hooky as hell No Reason.

#5 White Lies

We said “Have potential to be a commercial success.”

The bands debut album went to number 1 in the UK and White Lies have played many big gigs and festivals including Glastonbury, T in the Park and Reading and Leeds. Personally for Breaking More Waves our opinion is that the album was too contrived and weakened by schoolboy lyrics.

#6 Skint and Demoralised

We said “No doubt many young lasses will fall for him.”

If they young ladies did fall for Skint and Demoralised they forgot to buy his records. The single Red Lipstick picked up some Radio 1 play but come October the record company had ditched plans to release a further single or the album that was ready to go. Matt Skint got his hair cut and started presenting football reviews on You Tube. In February our review of his poorly attended live show at Brighton Audio commented that it was only when he dropped the music and delivered an anti BNP poem without a microphone that he came into his own and that “Maybe this is where his future lies.”

#7 Alessi’s Ark

We said “Unlikely to find huge commercial pop success, but is certainly an act to be championed.”

As predicted Alessi didn’t find huge commercial pop success, but her album Notes From The Treehouse was an endearing and sweet record. At the time we described the record as having “A sense of music wonder and magic.”

#8 Florence And The Machine

We said “An exciting proposition.”

Florence exceeded our expectations, her album Lungs being a triumph musically and it attained significant commercial success, remaining at number 2 in the album charts for five weeks, held off the top spot only by Michael Jackson. Her live shows became more focussed and as a result got better and better, with her performances at Camp Bestival and Brighton Concorde being two of our favourite gigs of the year.

#9 Mumford and Sons

We said “Will warm you deep inside.”

Mumford and Sons profile grew slowly over the course of the year. They proved that the old fashioned virtues of playing great gigs and having good songs will deliver you a loyal fan base. The band signed to Island Records and the subsequent release of their debut album, Sigh No More, at the start of October, saw the band hit number 11 in the UK charts. Not bad for a folk / bluegrass act. Bellies were warmed.

#10 Marina and the Diamonds

We said “This maverick cat has already ruffled a few feathers with her blogs on Myspace, which she has now removed declaring that she will never open her mouth again.”

Marina has released two critically acclaimed singles on the Neon Gold label and has now signed a major record deal with 679/Warners, releasing Mowgli's Road in November. An album is due for the early part of 2010. She back tracked on her promise of keeping her mouth shut and has a fully functioning, active, entertaining blog.

Now let's move on up.

It's almost time for this years Ones To Watch list. On the 30th November we shall explain our criteria for selection and rules of engagement. Then on the 1st December enjoy our musical advent calender as we reveal who our Ones To Watch are, each act hiding behind a different musical door on the countdown to Christmas. This will the be swiftly followed by our Top Ten albums of the year list and then, well, that's pretty much it till next year except for a few random articles that we have floating around that we haven't yet posted following our 'one blog a day' rule. Go !