My Bloody Valentine
Kevin Shields and company made a lot of nostalgic fanboys and girls very happy on February 2 of this year when m b v, the long, long, long-awaited follow-up to 1991’s Loveless, dropped via their website, which subsequently crashed under the load of thousands of frenzied, tune-hungry clicks. Five years on from their last Irish show, also at Electric Picnic, they’re ready to give the new LP a live airing, and treat patient fans to the psychedelic wig-out they’ve been waiting for.

David Byrne And St. Vincent
On first look, Talking Heads auteur David Byrne and hype-laden multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark seemed like an odd pairing, but with the release of Love This Giant, their unexpectedly sultry collaborative album, it all started to make sense. The duo’s enigmatic live shows are even more remarkable; mixing Talking Heads crowd-pleasers like ‘Burning Down The House’ with souped-up St. Vincent faves, they play out like a frenzied trip through both musicians’ careers.

The Knife
It’s hard to believe that Stockholm’s finest boundary-pushing electronic duo The Knife have been doing their thing for 13 years now, especially after a spin of Shaking The Habitual, their feral fourth studio album, which had critics all aflutter when it dropped back in April. Olaf and Karin Andersson have promised to bring tracks exclusively from this album when they hit Stradbally for a show that’s, by all accounts, closer to performance art than live gig.

Jagwar Ma
Sydney rockers Jagwar Ma may not have reached household name status just yet, but put these three avant-garde tune-sculptors on a stage and you’ll wonder why you aren’t already wearing a t-shirt with their head-scratching moniker on it (the name, by the by, comes from production whiz Jono Ma and a painting of a jaguar that somehow became the band’s mascot). If you aren’t already familiar, trippy first LP Howlin’ is the perfect way to warm up for their EP debut.

Wu Tang Clan
Aside from the fact that the current Wu Tang line-up includes the greatest New York rapper currently doing his thing on the international stage (who am I talking about? Ghostface? Raekwon? GZA? Duke it out amongst yourselves…), there are countless reasons to include the vintage hip-hop collective on your must-see list for EP 2013, namely their 20-year back catalogue and an 80-minute Coachella belter from earlier this year, which you can watch in full on YouTube.

The Duckworth Lewis Method
If ever there was a case for the forceful resurrection of the concept record, it’s the cable-knit jumper-wearing, pop hook-bearing, wicket-toppling lads from the Duckworth Lewis Method, whose fiendishly fun second album, we’re delighted to report, has gone down a storm at home and abroad. Sticky Wickets marks the second themed LP from Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh, who’ve been honing their chuckle-filled live show at cricket grounds in the UK, no less.

Little Green Cars
With the Little Green Cars juggernaut gaining momentum by the hour, it’s the perfect time to catch these bewitching alt. folksters, as they flaunt hits from debut album Absolute Zero. With its festive jangling guitars, hushed, choral build-ups and titanic ‘Oh My God’ refrain, ‘Big Red Dragon’ is sure to be a highlight, as is the anthemic ‘My Love Took Me Down To The River To Silence Me’, which is currently blowing up YouTube thanks to its bleak, Burren-set music video.

Warpaint
The fact that all four members of LA-based psychedelic rock outfit Warpaint are insanely gorgeous young women tends to distract from the blissfully experimental noise that they make, but five minutes into one of their shows, you’ll be too busy marvelling at their woozy melodies to notice. Expect a preview of their as-yet-unnamed second LP when they hit the Picnic stage, as well as tunes from 2010’s The Fool. Psst! That Stella Mozgawa is one hell of a drummer.

Chvrches
As well as racking up millions of views for glitchy breakout track ‘Recover’ on YouTube, Glasgow synthpop trio Chvrches (pronounced like the big grey things where priests say mass) have powered through their bucket list in 2013, featuring on the BBC Sound Of… poll and selling out shows in the US. We reckon their infectious wall of hyperactive noise will sound terrific pouring out into the Stradbally air, especially with floor-fillers like ‘Gun’ in their gigging arsenal.

Sam Smith
As excited as we were for Disclosure’s appearance on …Jools Holland, we couldn’t pry our eyes off of 21-year-old Hertfordshire lad Sam Smith, who delivered the most incredibly agile vocal performance we’ve heard in aeons, while looking like he was waiting on a bus. Not that the singer, who’s since scored a UK Number One guesting on Naughty Boy’s ‘La La La’, isn’t an exciting live prospect; it’s just that, with pipes like that, we expected him to croon from a heap on the floor. Not to be confused with the well-known journalist!