Barney's Picks for 2009 Part1

As is customary with this time of year it's time we see what we'll all be listening to in 2009. However due to the impending destruction of western civilisation this year will be slightly different and the only way we will be able to hear these great bands will be on wind up radios huddled together in skips eating suspect meats out of lable-less tins So here's some bands i think will or should make waves in 2009. (this will be updated over the next week or so)

The Gaslight Anthem



My first tip is the one i have the most faith in because essentially the job is already half done. The Gaslight Anthem dropped my album of the year last with The '59Sound and they keep winning fans and critical acclaim wherever they go. Led by the impossibly charming Brian Fallon, who even made the NME cool list, they have the potential to follow The Hold Steady into the hearts of a lot of devoted fans and '09 can only see them get bigger and better.

Polar Bear Club


Second pick is a band that are coming over to the UK this Feb to support Gaslight Anthem. Hailing from Rochester, NY this a band that fans of anyone from Black Flag to Snow Patrol can take something from. They're everything i look for in a band; anthemic, inventive, sincere and engaging with one of the best vocalists i've heard in a long long time. On first listen their gruff melodic punk rock is all Hot Water Music this and Small Brown Bike that but on repeat listens you can hear a grander ambition, that while nodding to their past seem focused on breaking out of the confines of punk rock and making something defining. Start with their The Redder The Better E.P. and move on to their debut album Sometimes Things Just Disappear trust me you won't look back.