CLEAN CUT KID

Being a four-piece from Liverpool can’t be easy. Then again, when your frontman once performed a gig with two broken arms after falling off stage, perhaps it’s Spinal Tap that present a better comparison. In any case, regardless of who you’re measuring them against – and we’re going to plump for the rhythmic indie-pop of Vampire Weekend – the Scouse quartet are making waves. A slow and steady approach has seen them hold off on a debut album until this year, but early singles and last year’s EP We Used To Be In Love have left no doubt that something special awaits. With one of their members born in Dublin, we’re half tempted to claim them for our own…
HEAR: What they’re all about at soundcloud.com/cleancutkidmusic
SEE: The video for the EP’s title track on YouTube

BILLIE EILISH

It’s nothing short of frightening that anyone would have such maturity, poise and ear-catching wonder at the ripe old age of 14, but the Californian seems like a different beast entirely. The influence of Lana Del Rey is plain to see in her noir-ish balladry, but unlike the mysterious and difficult gestation of TAFKA Lizzy Grant, this star-in-waiting has arrived fully formed. Breakthrough track ‘Ocean Eyes’ has garnered Spotify streams into the millions, with everyone from Zane Lowe to Vogue falling under the spell of the young pretender. Time is most certainly on her side, of course, but there’s good reason to think it won’t be long before her glassy indie-pop is a mainstream concern.
HEAR: Her precocious talent at soundcloud.com/billieeilish
SEE: ‘Ocean Eyes’ get the video treatment on YouTube

FRANCES

It’s a risky move to go with the single name approach – her postman, for one, could be driven demented – but the young English pianist and vocalist can pull it off. Indeed, ‘the new Adele’ is a title just waiting to be bestowed. Educated at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, she was heavily tipped for success last year, but decided the slow and steady route worked best. In a savvy move, she enlisted the likes of Greg Kurstin to assist in making her debut album (Kurstin having been vital in the success of the aforementioned mononymous megastar), and the finished product is expected in March. The flame-haired chanteuse is adept at making songs both grandiose and fragile at the same time – a talent that should see her go very far indeed.
HEAR: Tastes of what she’s about at soundcloud.com/frances_music
SEE: ‘Let It Out’ in video form on YouTube

HIPPO CAMPUS

Purveyors of the type of perky indie-rock bangers that would get the Two Door Cinema Club seal of approval, a pair of highly impressive EPs released in the last 18 months have had an embarrassment of industry tastemakers salivating at what might become of this young quartet. The mighty Minnesotans have diligently ticked the boxes throughout their fledgling careers too – shows at Red Rocks and Lollapalooza, a TV appearance on Conan, and tickets-like-golddust shows at their hometown First Avenue. Now, with their debut album ready to drop on February 24, their rise may be about to step up a gear or three. Unfortunately, their brief run of shows next month occurs without an Irish stop, but fear not – we’ve got a feeling these guys will be buzzing about for some time to come.
HEAR: Their excellent EPs at soundcloud.com/hippo-campus
SEE: The video for lead single ‘boyish’ on YouTube

JAIN

The delayed reaction to Christine and the Queens, whose breakthrough came two years after their album’s release, may well be the fate of this French talent, who is just as irreverently inventive as the much-vaunted Héloïse Letissier. A true woman of the world, flavours of African rhythms vibe alongside French techno, with aspects of folk, soul and reggae jostling for inclusion too. 2015’s debut LP Zanaka made her a star in various corners of the world – seriously, the list of commenters beneath her YouTube videos reads like the sign in sheet at the UN – but the coming 12 months may be when English-speaking audiences finally wake up to the inimitable brilliance of the woman born Jeanne Galice.
HEAR: The album Zanaka on Spotify
SEE: The promo for the stunning ‘Makeba’ on YouTube