Ones to Watch 2012 - #14 Charli XCX

One of the problems of publishing a new music blog that works fully outside of the music industry itself (excepting the huge pile of emails from PR companies that attempt to sink our in box every day) is that we can never be fully sure as to when an artist is going to be forthcoming with recorded material. Back in November 2009 we first featured the flamboyant teenager Charli XCX and her hyperactive sherbert-electropop. A year passed and as November 2010 arrived we gave her consideration for our Ones to Watch for 2011 list. Have a look at this blog and the picture to see some of those we considered and eventually decided against. The decision not to list Charli XCX was probably correct as it is only in the last few months that she’s fully surfaced from the darkness of the studio, releasing two singles, the classy electro-power ballad of Stay Away and the igneous Nuclear Seasons with its call of “When you go, please don't leave your love in the sun, my heart will melt away.” Both have found plenty of blog adoration, particularly stateside. There now seems to be a momentum behind Charli XCX and hence this year she features on our Ones to Watch for 2012.

Charli XCX may have burst out like an exploding cracker, showering Pac-Man power pills whilst playing at being a crotch grabbing horned up pop star, but her two recent singles display a much greater maturity. They veer between 80’s power balladry last seen when the likes of Berlin or Shakespeare’s Sister were in the charts and the more modern pop of the likes of Marina & The Diamonds or Gwen Stefani dabbling with computers in a cathedral. With an album finally set for 2012 these singles have shown great potential. The question is can it be fulfilled?

Nuclear Seasons (Night Plane Remix) by charlixcx

Ones to Watch 2012 - #13 Outfit

Our thirteenth choice in our Ones to Watch 2012 list is Outfit. They’re a five-piece indie band, but not the sort of indie band that is likely to quote Oasis or The Kaiser Chiefs as inspirations. In fact their Facebook lists their influences as Beach Boys, Pional, Todd Rundgren, Cryptacize and Kompak as reference points. There's a number of indie bands taking more interesting reference points at the moment -Embers (who we would have included on this list if it wasn't for the fact that it's so early days they haven't even played a gig yet), Zulu Winter, Woman's Hour, French Wives and Theme Park all nearly making it onto our Ones To Watch list, but we've gone this time with Outfit.

Having formed from the ashes of another band called Indica Ritual and various members having played in a whole host of other groups, Outfit first popped up on the internet 9 months ago with the songs Every Night I Dress Up As You and Killer. These two pieces of ambling, gentle, oft-kilter guitar tuneage immediately picked them up coverage on a music industry connected blog and pretty soon after the NME were on their case as well.

From that point onwards Outfit were on a rise and luckily they have the music to back it up. Their key track released to date is Two Islands, which floats in a vibey melancholic majestic beauty that seems to be going nowhere but is actually very focussed on its direction. There’s a feeling of sad loneliness in a packed space in the lyrics “I don’t know anyone else in here,” as guitar effects wash and keyboard sounds roll. With Outfit’s fluid structure and slightly avant-garde approach to song writing it’s inevitable that the band would draw comparisons with the likes of Wild Beasts and that has been the case. It’s not a bad comparison to draw.

It’s still very early days for Outfit, the band suggesting that they will release a new EP to follow up Two Islands in 2012 and a confirmed tour in February that opens at the Green Door Store in Brighton on 11th February before hitting Oxford, Bristol, Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham, with an album later in the year. Keep an eye (and ear) out for them.

Two Islands by OUTFIT

Ones to Watch 2012 - #12 Ren Harvieu

We’ve already mentioned that a number of choices in the Breaking More Waves Ones To Watch 2012 list have more than a vague whiff of nostalgia about them. From the 50’s vintage Bo Didley referencing Willy Moon to the old school rock and blues of Alabama Shakes to the smouldering 60’s gangster Nancy Sinatra of Lana Del Rey or the sepia tinged Otis loving acoustic soul of Michael Kiwanuka. Now here’s another one.

When we first posted about Ren Harvieu back in September we mentioned the likes of Dusty Springfield and Carole King as musical similarities. To that list we could also easily add Shirley Bassey (well, actually we did already, here) and Cilla Black because we could very much imagine Ren standing in a venue like the London Palladium and belting songs like Forever In Blue and the Say A Little Prayer referencing debut single Through The Night out and getting a standing ovation. It’s opulent stuff.

For the moment Ren Harvieu has to be content with her recent support slots with James Morrison and two headline shows at the less glamorous Monto Water Rats in London and the Ruby Lounge in Manchester. There's also a simple performance video of her covering The Beatles Something which she put out a couple of weeks ago (see below). At this point in time however, Ren is probably just glad to be getting out playing shows after badly injuring her back in a freak accident earlier this year that almost stopped her music career in the tracks before it even got going.

Through The Night by Ren Harvieu

Sister Morphine – Recorded for MOJO magazine covermount CD by Ren Harvieu

Ones to Watch 2012 - #11 The Staves

The Staves are three beautiful sisters making beautiful music. It’s music formed out of simplicity – one acoustic guitar and three harmonised voices that are about as close as you can get to pure. The word spell-binding doesn't even do them justice.

Jessica, Camilla and Emily Staveley-Taylor originally hail from Watford, UK and after starting their life in music playing open-mic nights and gigs in local cafes and pubs they secured a slot at the Glastonbury Festival back in 2009. Since then the band have found doors slowly opening for them as people recognise their undisputed and unique talent. In the summer of 2010 they were a part of the Communion records Flowerpot Takeover, during which they collaborated with Lissie, Mumford and Sons, Jesse Quinn, Pete Roe, Tim Rice-Oxley, and Damien Rice. They have also supported Mumford & Sons on a tour of the US and James Vincent McMorrow in the UK.

Originally featured on the blog back in April the sisters have now secured a record deal and an album will be released in 2012. If that album sounds anything like the beautiful Mexico which streamed on that April post or this bewitchingly calm version of Gone Tomorrow recorded live at Cecil Sharp House in London, it wouldn’t be a surprise if it finds itself on quite a few end of year lists come next December.

Gone Tomorrow by The Staves