Start The Clocks, Can We Just Slow It Down?

A quick Google search for Bondax throws up some images of what I can only imagine is a fetish culture of bondage involving for latex. If all goes to plan, a similar search this time next year will yield mostly images of Lancaster teenagers George Townsend & Adam Kaye, rather than tightly-bound ladies in catsuits.

I first came across the fresh-faced fellows when their excellent track 'Baby I Got That' started doing the rounds towards the end of the summer. I guess I was somewhat late to the party, seeing as the likes of The Point of Everything had earmarked the pair's potential this time last year.

George and Adam released an EP in March, which saw them affiliated with the UK's burgeoning 'future garage' scene, which is supposed to sound like the Artful Dodger after a spin in a DeLorean, I guess.

Bondax have since signed to Sony and, judging by their latest release 'Gold', they're set for big things next year.

Gold by Bondax

Because We Used To Be The Cool Kids

Despite the pathetic number of posts I've managed over the past eighteen months, I'm still surprised that I never got around to posting about Charli XCX.

Although still just 20 years young, Charli has been releasing music since 2008 when the caught the attention of one of my favourite music writers The Guardian's Paul Lester, even if he had written her off as a Lady Sovereign wannabe.

It's only in the past year or so though that she's really hit her stride, releasing a slew of excellent EPs and mixtapes, working with some of the most interesting producers on the go and lending her vocals to Icona Pop's signature tune 'I Love It'.

Keeping good company, Charli was chosen to join Sky Ferreira and Grimes on the cover of V Magazine earlier this year and was also namechecked in that Pitchfork article I mentioned previously about the next generation of pop music.

Charli XCX's album lands in February and, yesterday, we got another little taster of what to expect in the guise of new single 'You (Ha Ha Ha)'. Based around a sample of Gold Panda's 'You', the track builds into a spiteful dedication to a former lover, with all the hallmarks of Charli's patented 'gloom pop' sound.

Charli XCX - You Ha Ha Ha (Radio 1 Airplay) by charlixcx

Aaliyah Please, This Is Green Envy

Katy B's new 'Danger' EP, available to download for free over at her official site, is a great little reminder of why 'On A Mission' was one of 2011's finest pop records.

Collaborating with the likes of Iggy Azalea, Diplo, Wiley and Jacques Greene, Ms B has managed to rope in some big names to help her out. The standout though is 'Aaliyah', a duet with Jessie Ware, produced by Geeneus.

A fitting homage to the late great R'n'B singer, 'Aaliyah' does not appropriate any samples or descend into mawkish tributes. Instead, Jessie and Katy plead with an irresistible dancefloor maven by the name of Aaliyah to steer clear of their men. As one friend pointed out, it's a bit like 'Jolene' with nineties keyboards.



Jessie Ware's own record 'Devotion' is deservedly being bandied about in end-of-year album lists and she's also become the latest remix subject du jour. These efforts by Cyril Hahn and Disclosure are some of the best, and I also really love this cover of Brownstone's 'If You Love Me' she's recorded with Japanese teenagers Benzel.

BBC Sound of 2013

The usual deluge of end of year 'best of' lists has arrived on cue and, accordingly, attention has begun to shift to the artists likely to populate these lists next year.

The BBC's 'Sound Of...' list has arguably become the definitive tastemaker list, perhaps because it aggregates the predictions of 200 journalists and assorted other 'industry professionals'. This year's longlist has just been announced and is typically diverse.

Two Irish acts, Kodaline and Little Green Cars, have both made the cut. Little Green Cars are one of the most promising Irish outfits to have emerged in a while and, although they're perhaps unlikely to come top of this list, they've certainly got the chops to conquer next summer's festival circuit.



In terms of the act I'm most excited about on the list, it's got to be Angel Haze. The Michigan-born rapper's mixtapes have helped to establish her as a formidable force and there's an underlying intelligence and wit in her rhymes that should give her an edge over her contemporaries.



I'm also glad to see Sierra Leone-born singer A*M*E, who has been championed by the likes of Popjustice this year, make the list. I love that her brash pop sound is wrapped up in a great sense of fun and, at the risk of sounding like an X Factor cliché, she seems like she has 'the whole package'.



The full list is as follows:

• AlunaGeorge 
• A*M*E 
• Angel Haze 
• Arlissa 
• Chvrches 
• HAIM 
• King Krule 
• Kodaline 
• Laura Mvula 
• Little Green Cars 
• Palma Violets 
• Peace 
• Savages 
• The Weeknd 
• Tom Odell

For a comprehensive rundown of the longlisted acts, check out this BBC feature:

I Lose You In The Dark

And now for something completely different. N'awww. Just messing. It's another singing lady flanked by skittery electronica.

There's scant information about UK act Twigs, whose debut EP has quickly become a talking point on music blogs since its release 24 hours ago. What we do know is that she graced the cover of fashion bible iD earlier this year and that her music occupies a point on the musical spectrum somewhere between CREEP, Grimes and Purity Ring.

My pick of the EP is 'Breathe', but it's all pretty damn good.