The BBC have published their longlist of 15 acts that they think could be the 'sound of 2009'. No matter whether you think these sort of polls are a bit pointless or a vital barometer of the land's musical taste, there's no denying that the BBC's 'sound of' annual poll has proven unerringly accurate. Adele was last year's winner, and the top ten also featured names such as Duffy, The Ting Tings and Glasvegas (we'll draw a veil over Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong, shall we?).
This year's longlist has a variety of names, some obvious (Florence & The Machine, Little Boots) and some not so obvious (Empire Of The Sun and The Temper Trap).
Personally, I'm rather delighted to see Passion Pit (pictured) in the running - imagine if Iron & Wine had been raised on a diet of slightly barmy electro. This time next year, Better Things will be the anthem at all the Christmas parties...
There's also La Roux, Seb Chew's latest discovery. Mr Chew was the man who, of course, first discovered Lily Allen, so her synth heavy pop will no doubt be big news next year. Look out for Quicksand, her first single being released this month.
Although the list has the obligatory Interpol-alike in White Lies (currently supporting Glasvegas on tour), the longlist does seem to hint at 2009 being a more eccentric, electro-heavy year. Victoria Hesketh of Little Boots and Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine already seem like born performers and future stars, and they'll no doubt be joined by VV Brown, albeit in a more straightforward pop-soul direction.
So what do you think? Who will be the 'sound of 2009'? Who has the BBC forgotten all about (ahem, Emmy The Great, maybe?) Tell us your predictions below.
