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What’s new in 2013?

There are some big questions to answer about music in 2013: will we finally uncover the saviour of British rock music? Will hype be lived up to? Will Liam Gallagher stop being such a moody bastard? Obviously one of these has a blindingly obvious answer, but the other two bear thinking about. With some exciting debut albums, 2013 has the potential to be a great year for music.

Palma Violets are one of the most exciting new bands around, and with their debut album out on 25th February as well as a tour of the US and a slot supporting Django Django, they are definitely a band to keep an eye on. Their acclaimed single ‘Best of Friends’ is unquestionably the first step on their holy quest to purge rock in fire and build it anew from the ashes in their own image. Also supporting Django Django are psychedelic happiness-mongers Peace, who will surely spend the year shaking up the world of music along with their Birmingham buddies, the irrepressible dream pop quartet, Swim Deep.

Four-piece alternative band Bastille is another band that is impossible to ignore. Their Other People’s Heartache mix tape series has delighted fans everywhere, and the end of their wildly successful winter 2012 tour was only a precursor to the Bad Blood tour, which will consist of a whopping 16 dates all over the UK (including a visit to Oxford’s O2 Academy on 22nd March).

Their frequently postponed debut album is now set to drop on 4th March, and given Dan Smith’s reputation as a perfectionist and the high quality of everything the band has released so far, we don’t think we’re going too far when we say it’s going to be the best sound made in human history. OK, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but it’ll definitely be debut of the year material.

The hype surrounding Haim, three sisters who have been described as Timbaland-meets-Fleetwood-Mac, refuses to go away, and with good reason. Their debut will be released in early 2013, and if it’s anywhere near as good as their wonderful Forever EP and the forceful and brilliant single ‘Don’t Save Me’ suggest that it will be, Haim will have made an indelible mark on the face of indie pop.

With all the great new stuff around, it would be easy to forget those whom we’ve already appreciated, but 2013 will also see a wide variety of beloved artists releasing again. Oh, and I think some band called The Stone Roses have re-formed or something…

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