RANDON'S BANDS FOR 2016

Yep, I know I'm jumping on the bandwagon a bit with the first proper post on this blog, but it's that wonderful time of the year where I get to talk about the bands that I think will be (for lack of a better phrase) BIG in 2016. Some you may have heard already making a racket on the underground circuits in the last couple of years, others are yet to emerge from house shows and bedroom demos, but all of them are set to prove their worth over the next 12 months in some brilliant way, shape or form...

FATHERSON

It still seems a crying shame to me that Fatherson's debut album, I Am An Island, didn't strike more of a chord in 2014, considering how near-perfect it is as a first album from a young group. Sharp and anthemic indie-rock choruses are one thing that make this Scottish trio ones to watch, but Ross Leighton's sonorous vocals, in terms of heart-melting clarity, are beyond anything I've heard from a frontman in the last few years.

MUNCIE GIRLS

I'm not really one who can craft a confident, informed opinion about current affairs, and with socially-minded music, it's always been more about less about the politics and more about the punk rock for me. Enter Muncie Girls, and suddenly the political sphere feels all the more accessible thanks to their insanely catchy power pop. Intelligent, infectious and important to the new generation of British punks.

MILK TEETH

As the grunge revival gravy train rolls into 2016, Milk Teeth will shine out from those simply attempting to recreate the fuzzed-out vibes of the early 90s, on account of them bringing more of an authentic edge to the equation. They are, as the guys on That's Not Metal say, "Sub Pop as fuck", but they've got more of an allure than just 'here's a Pixies riff played through a distortion pedal'. There's flair, there's fury and there's fuck-off-massive tunes that will make them unstoppable.

MUSKETS

I consider 2015 to be the year that I fell in love with punk rock, and with it came many discoveries, including my first house show. I wasn't sure what to expect when Muskets set up their gear in the kitchen of a Southampton student house, but what I did know was that their nods to college rock and slack-jawed hardcore have aligned to create masterful grungy-punk, best heard on the superb Spin EP (or through an amp on a kitchen worktop).

RAIN

Here's a band that instantly went on the list about 30 seconds into their track 'Slur' (thanks to my man Charlie Simmonds for posting out about this), and when it kicks in with those reverb-drenched guitars, you'll know why. Again, there's more 90s grunge vibes than you can shake a (pogo) stick at, but it's the vocal harmonies and sheer scale of melody that makes it vast and all the more interesting. Their debut EP, Symphony Pains, is out next month, and now a highly anticipated release for the year ahead.

TURNOVER

By sheer coincidence, Turnover are the only non-British band to make my list (which, if anything, is just testament to how great the collective British alternative 'scene' is right now), but I recently fell in love with the Virginians' second album, Peripheral Vision, and its shoegaze-y tenderness. Think The War On Drugs with more forlorn, emo feels in its gorgeous lyricism.

JERRY WILLIAMS

Seeing as I love to shake things up a bit, here's an artist that I worked with a few times when hosting a show on my university radio station. I have seen Jerry blossom from a young singer-songwriter writing twee, nice-as-pie acoustic nu-folk and belting out Johnny Cash covers, to crafting funky and witty indie-pop... And belting out R. Kelly covers.

SIGNALS.

You know that feeling when you check out the support act on a whim, and you end up going 'fuck, I wasn't expecting that'? Well, that feeling ten times over when I first heard Signals.. Intricate, well-crafted and sonically expansive, this is your new favourite band if you think that The 1975 have gone a bit wank with their new stuff. I certainly do anyway.

CHEAP MEAT

I have had the pleasure of working with the lads in Cheap Meat towards the end of 2015, as they announced their signing to Hassle Records. With interest aimed as ever towards the arrival of new Weezer material, and the rise and rise of college rock-influenced punk, I really feel like there's a special place in your heart for Cheap Meat; full of charm, good humour, and simple yet effective choruses.

PRESS TO MECO

I wrote a piece recently on Press to MECO comparing what they do musically to dunking your McDonald's chips into your chocolate milkshake: without repeating what I said so many times in 2015 amidst the release of their phenomenal debut album, Good Intent, their combo of huge techy riffs, batshit time signatures and poppy layered vocals really shouldn't work, but instead it has brought some of the most infectious listening of the last few years, and will continue to do so in 2016.

BLACK PEAKS

Progressive. Mesmerizing. Blisteringly fucking loud. These are all words that come to mind when attempting to describe just how phenomenal Black Peaks are, but none of them quite do them justice. The band (formerly known as Shrine) spent 2015 establishing their new identity, but 2016 will no doubt see them leaving a crater-sized mark on the mainstream, as their forthcoming debut record Statues is set to become a landmark British rock record.

CROOKS

It's taken them a bit of time over a few average EPs to iron out the creases in their emotional post-hardcore, but Crooks are on top fucking form as they enter the new year. Their debut album, Are We All The Same Distance Apart, had me picking up my jaw from the table when I first heard it (I was sat in a Starbucks as well so I must have looked like a right knob), and will no doubt be the album we look back at as the moment they honed their perpetual bursts of intense melody.

EMPLOYED TO SERVE

In a more visceral fashion than Marmozets (and Rolo Tomassi before them), Employed To Serve are going to tear the hardcore scene a new, gaping arsehole. Their debut album, Greyer Than You Remember, is unrelenting, unmerciful and un-fucking-fathomably heavy - its essentially the ideal soundtrack to slamming your wanker boss' face into a desk corner really. Fucking. Hard.

CREEPER

ANYONE who knows me knows that I wouldn't have been able to compile this list without Creeper, and I really have saved the best until last. They're quite possibly the best band in Britain right now (no joke), and if their new material is anything like last year's The Callous Heart EP, then 2016 will be their year. It's not just the killer punk songs that has me going 'FUCK, I LOVE THIS BAND SO MUCH', it's the sheer passion that they have poured into shaping their image without it being contrived, and the iconography that they have used to captivate their cult of a fanbase.

I don't think I've felt this way about a band since My Chemical Romance: listening to their gothic nuances and watching their life-affirming performances, I feel like Creeper are going to save people's lives.

So there you have it. If you think I've snubbed any bands from this list, hit me up on Twitter or on the Randon's Reviews Facebook page. Alternatively, if you think your band will pique my interest in the months ahead, you can send me your music at randonsreviews@gmail.com - I may even give you a good review.

Thank you as ever, and until next time, go away.

(But please do come back next time. I love you really)

Danny