Epigram Music's artists to watch in 2020
By Francesca Frankis, Music Editor & Guy Marcham, Deputy Music Editor
Here's our definitive list of artists to keep your eye on this year!
Black Country, New Road
This Cambridgeshire seven-piece are the haunting and intense future of British alternative. Amongst a seething frenzy of overdrive and feedback, an unearthly wail of saxophone and violins cackle. Arcade Fire have just started listening to Metallica and incorporated a dry British sardonic sense of humour. A weird cacophony of post-punk that jolts at every turn. They may look like the regular kid you sat next to in your year 10 English class – but as Black Country, New Road they make a colossal racket. A sucker punch to blow you away.
Working Men's Club
As the colossus synth strikes into action on ‘Teeth’ – you know you’re in for a treat. An alternative dance behemoth that mixes rave fuelled abandon, post-punk guitar tones, industrial energy and a gnarly British sense of grit. LCD Soundsystem synth pulses boom as an antagonistic Fall influenced vocal grabs you by the scruff of the neck. Frankly, you don’t want it to let go. ‘Suburban Heights’ sees the band take on a more jangly indie guitar tone – a darting Parquet Courts-esque angular groove. An eclectic band that dances and destroys.
Sinead O'Brien
Avant-garde poetry meets haunting industrial guitar tones. A ferocious spine that jolts into metallic screeches and jagged bass-line swagger. An early PJ Harvey sense of abandon etches deep. Sinead O’ Brien is an abstract and enigmatic artist, pushing musical boundaries with her artsy alternative juggernauts.
A darting blend of surging krautrock and post-punk discordancy to strut to. The immediate sense of musical dread is laced with a well-crafted poetic license. An intellectual and philosophical assault on the ears.
Sinead O’ Brien is an abstract and enigmatic artist, pushing musical boundaries with her artsy alternative juggernauts.
Steam Down
Yet another outstanding Jazz act to come out of Britain’s immense new scene. Steam Down are a collective, hailing from the diverse South-East London creative hub of Deptford. The band have already stormed Gilles Peterson’s We Out Their Festival and Glastonbury’s bucolic Park Stage; yet with just one release to their name, 2020 promises to be all the more conquering. Mixing soulful vocal tones, spoken word hip hop verses and surging horn cacophonies that leave you breathless and craving for more. As bullish as Sons of Kemet but with a snappy Melt Yourself Down tinged sense of chaos.
Katy J Pearson
A soothing acoustic shimmer, a blossoming ray of sunshine. Katy J Pearson is a gem of an artist. Nestled deep between Gloucestershire and Bristol, Katy J Pearson’s blend of country and twee indie pop is nothing short of irresistible. On debut 2019 single ‘Tonight’ – Pearson embraced the subtle and effortless indie folk of Scotland’s best, Belle and Sebastian and Camera Obscura. Music to make you forget your worries and niggling apprehensions and instead smile and wile away your time in amongst rolling hills and the refreshing open air. Expect more well-crafted earworms in 2020.
Los Bitchos
Shirt buttons loosen, beer bottles crack open and tequila shots are generously passed around. Los Bitchos know how to get a party started. With their thundering knack for killer guitar riffs and dancefloor ready bongos – Los Bitchos embrace their inner-carnival. A darting fiesta and frenzy of good time vibes, intricate guitar solos and joyous escapism. The all-female quintet are sure to bringing their sun-soaked beach party tunes and live shows to you in 2020 - so don your Hawaiian shirts and get ready to dance.
Vegyn
Joe Thornalley a.k.a Vegyn consistently reinvents all of the rules – pioneering a sound that defies style and genre. Having worked alongside the likes of James Blake and Frank Ocean, the London based producer dropped two records in 2019, epic 72 track mixtape Text While Driving If You Want To Meet God!, and debut album Only Diamond Cut Diamonds. Vegyn fluctuates in and out of musical norms with alternating rhythms and chopped up vocal samples - fleshed out with moments of glossy electronic introspection.
Vegyn fluctuates in and out of musical norms with alternating rhythms and chopped up vocal samples - fleshed out with moments of glossy electronic introspection.
PVA
Surging synths, dancefloor belters and intricate delay infected guitars. PVA ooze cool. A killer assortment of warping genres that make them utterly danceable, strangely abstract and ethereally atmospheric. Think of them as Foals’ cooler and weirder younger brother. Whereas Foals have stagnated into an overblown arena-filled mess, PVA have kept intact their knack of intricate dancefloor laced bangers. It’s effortless, underground and red hot.
Hannah Diamond
London based creative Hannah Diamond curates a unique musical style that marries elements of trance music with the best of sparkly noughties pop – whilst being a member of prolific music collective PC Music that boasts an arsenal of artists like Charli XCX and A.G. Cook. Her debut 2019 album Reflections entirely reimagined what it means to be a pop-star in 2020 – an exaggerated autotuned vocal style, and a surreal dystopian stage presence.
Featured Image:Francesca Frankis/Epigram
What artists are you keeping your eye on for 2020?