Daughter

I mentioned this band in my top EPs of 2012 list last month.  They are an extremely talented English group.  The musical style is pretty minimalist and simple, but one of their strengths is how they manage to achieve an incredible intensity in many of their songs in spite of there only being three band members and not a lot of electronic enhancement.  Check out this song for example.  The lyrics are generally very dark so you have to be in the mood for that.  If you approach it with the right mindset, though, their music can be really captivating.  Many of their songs lend themselves to acoustic arrangements; check out this version of Peter.  The band has two EPs out currently, and they are about to release a full-length album (March in Europe, late April in the US).  I recommend checking it out.

The Autumn Film

This is a three-person band from Boulder; the two guys play backing instruments, and the girl plays piano and sings.  The songs are all pretty melodic, but also have good percussion and rhythm; I really like the prominence of the piano parts.  Here is one of my favourite of their songs.  Some of them are quite a bit darker than this (here is an example).  The group has two albums out: their first one, "The Ship and the Sea", and the recent "Eight Track Tape".  They also recently did some cool Coldplay covers which you can listen to and watch on their website.  Apparently they have played at Everyday Joes in the past; I wonder if they will ever come back there.

Lights

Lights is a girl from Toronto who does some really catchy eletropop.  My youngest brother introduced me to the music; at first I was highly skeptical because it's so poppy.  However, after a few listens to her 2009 album, "The Listening", I couldn't deny it was really fun to hear if I was in the right mood.  Here's one of my favourite songs.  The songs are all clean and musically fairly interesting.  There is also an acoustic collection of songs which is really good: check this out.  I'm much more interested in acoustic stuff these days, and it's refreshing to know that there are pop artists who can still do it.  She released her most recent album, "Siberia", in 2011, and went on tour last year in support of that.

The Honeycutters

The Honeycutters are an alt-country/folk band from Asheville; apparently they've been around for a while but haven't become particularly well known.  They have started winning some awards recently.  A friend of mine saw them live a few times in North Carolina when he used to live there, and he has since tried to introduce as many people as possible to their music.  Their first album, "Irene", came out in 2009, and their second one came out this year.  Both albums have phenomenal songwriting, and the lead singer has an incredible voice.  The recent album feels a bit less twangy and country to me, and slightly more rocky.  In any case, both albums are well worth a listen at their bandcamp site.

Chvrches

Chvrches is a relatively new electropop group from Scotland; their music is pretty loud and beat-heavy. You definitely have to be in the right mood to enjoy it.  It sort of reminds me of Phantogram, or maybe M83, but it's a bit more predictable, or at least less wandering, with more traditional chord progressions.  Here is one of their really good songs.  They are about to go on a UK tour in support of their new album that is coming out this year.  I think some of their shows have already sold out, even though they were only announced like a week ago.  This is the single from the upcoming album; it's extremely catchy.

Kodaline

Kodaline are an Irish band that have been getting a lot of exposure in the US recently through TV shows and advertisements.  Apparently the group existed under a different name about five years ago, but reformed in 2011 and came out with a four-song EP.  Check out their website; they have several rather engrossing music videos on there.  The style of music is pretty mellow rock, although pretty dark in general (sorry if you're not into that).  In some ways it sounds like early Coldplay.  This song is their best-known.  Here is a song from their new EP (coming out in March).

Fierce Bad Rabbit

Fierce Bad Rabbit are pretty much the biggest band in Fort Collins right now, at least since the demise of Tickle Me Pink.  I've known about them for a few years, but other than the odd catchy song their music hasn't done much for me.  Their Live and Learn EP about a year ago interested me a bit more; I liked the direction it went.  Here's one of the songs from that EP.  I heard they were coming out with a new album this week, but I have to admit listening to it wasn't a high priority.  They posted it on their bandcamp site on New Years' Eve.  Give it a listen.  If the first song doesn't completely blow your mind, I don't know what to tell you; we must have fundamentally different music taste.  They put on an album release show at Hodi's Halfnote here in town on New Years' Eve.  Now I wish I had gone.

Mø

This is a girl from Copenhagen; she has only come out with a few songs to date but they've all been stunning.  I first heard this song on Ms Mr's "Track Addict Volume II" mixtape that they released just before Christmas.  It's very much in the same vein as Ms Mr's music: glitchy, retro electropop.  The trumpet fanfare in the background works extremely well, but it's the understated electric guitar just before the chorus that really seals the deal for me.  The end product is one of the catchier songs I've ever heard.  Here's another song, slightly more bluesy but still really good.  Apparently she is coming out with an album this year.