Sounds of 2010

Beth Jeans Houghton

Taking the pop of Florence Welch, the folk of Natasha Khan and the kooky glamour of both, Beth Jeans Houghton has been described as "a Victorian toy box coming to life."

The Newcastle-based singer, backed by the Hooves Of Destiny, has to date released two EPs, been play-listed on Radio 2 and supported the likes of Bon Iver and King Creosote.

Now working on her debut album with former Blur producer Ben Hiller, her intelligently crafted songs, strong pop sensibility and sense of fun fit in well with the current trend for eccentric style while having enough depth to survive its demise.

Susan Darlington

The Jim Jones Revue

You'd think it would be almost impossible to come up with anything original playing rock 'n' roll but this lot prove the exception.

No spring chickens, they've been around the block in various guises but this time it has all clicked into place.

Live, no prisoners are taken in one of the most full-on shows you are likely to encounter. Only the foolish willingly volunteer to follow them on stage.

On record, it's as refreshingly in your face with lyrics and a musical format that sadly mean it won't get daytime airplay.

Not, I suspect, that they give a toss.

Richard Hilton

Stornoway

Hotly tipped by the claque of hacks, pluggers and insiders who make up the industry taste-making machine, Stornoway are thus the only band on this list who may actually make it big.

Hailing from Oxford, the band are made of gently eccentric academics with a clear love for Celtic folk and Belle & Sebastian. Their music is of the wistful, pretty, crystalline type, with big pop balladry, trumpets and yearning vocals reminiscent of King Creosote. The multilayered, Fleet Foxes-like Zorbing promised much, and if they can keep themselves from translating Russian novels and going on tandem bicycle rides long enough to produce an album, mild-mannered world domination could be theirs.

James Walsh

This Morning Call

This Morning Call is the unusual moniker of an electronic pop producer from Britain - Ben Heyworth.

Heyworth's unashamedly eclectic and often downbeat style borrows from the likes of Keane and The Postal Service. It's an exciting new direction in a city already blessed with a rich musical inheritance and an international reputation.

Mixing traditional indie balladry with electronic quirks, glitch and ambience, he draws a sombre line under the increasingly creative goings-on in the electro scene, while putting a quiet rocket under the traditional guitar band set-up. Their debut All Quiet At 4am will be released in March.

Andy Perkins

Ellen Mary McGee

If Saint Joan crossed the bridge between Fairport Convention and The Tindersticks, then their former front-woman drew more heavily on the pure folk tradition for her debut solo album.

The Crescent Sun saw Nottingham-based singer Ellen Mary McGee use classical mythology for lyrical inspiration, her death-filled material being sparsely backed with guitar, banjo and zither. Combining traditional tracks with self-penned material, she sits somewhere between Kendra Smith's idiosyncrasy and Alasdair Roberts's fascination with murder ballads.

Having heavily toured the release on both sides of the Atlantic, she looks set to consolidate her growing reputation in folk circles over the coming months.

Susan Darlington

Kurran and the Wolfnotes

With soothing melodies straight outta San Fran in '67, London-based Kurran and his four-strong band are taking the Crosby, Stills and Nash express to the dizzy heights of hippy songsmithery with their harmony-soaked sound.

Your Four Limbs is all beseeching lyrics and plaintive folky vocals.

Debut single Whatabitch may send the feminists baying, but in truth, the chirpiness of the alt folkers will disarm any heart.

Live, their fragility switches for a raw rocky sound that ignites the stage and is getting folk fans in quite a lather.

Why not join them?

Kirstie May

Shrag

Shrag sound like a pissed-off mash of Kenickie, Elastica, Le Tigre, The B52s, The Long Blondes and Bis.

So they have the potential to be the best band of all time. Last year's eponymous debut was a collection of their singles so far, and suggested that Shrag are surrounded by shit lovers, trendy pricks and other assorted idiots, and they've had enough. The delightful Pregnancy Scene bewails all their friends having kids too young, and the lovely Forty Five 45's seems to be about hating bands simply because someone you think is a twat likes them. Loud, shouty and funny, I await Shrag's next move with great interest.

James Walsh

Dan Mangan

Out of Canada where he plays with a full band, we tend to only see him playing solo this side of the pond.

Even so, he can still hold the venue in the palm of his hands with songs that combine catchy tunes and intelligent lyrics, whether it's about the drudgery of being on the road, how his hometown of Vancouver has changed over the years or about the stories his grandfather told him.

For one so young, he is lyrically mature way beyond his years. He ends each concert with Robots, a tune so utterly infectious it will bounce around your brain for months afterwards.

Richard Hilton

Delphic

Taking the clear chiming notes of New Order and mixing them up with dancey beats, our friends in the north Delphic are flying the Manchester flag with aplomb.

Already off the starting block with last August's single This Momentary, these thoroughly modern musicians are now putting their defining moment Doubt into the hands of the fans, hosting a remix contest online via their website.

As they've also already launched their own iPhone application, when it comes to the future, they're really breaking down the walls - and the beats. Delphic's debut album Acolyte will be released on January 11.

Kirstie May