The Best New Music, Artists And Bands For 2019

22 April 2019, 22:14 | Updated: 22 November 2021, 16:52

Which new acts should you be streaming or buying tickets to see live in 2019? Here's Radio X's pick of the very best new music with Great X-Pectations...

Radio X has the perfect playlist for 2019 with Great X-Pectations. Each year, we hand pick a choice selection of the bands, artists and singer-songwriters that we think you’ll be hearing more of over the next twelve months.

In previous years, Radio X has tipped The 1975, Royal Blood, Pale Waves, Catfish And The Bottlemen, CHVRCHES, Blossoms, Wolf Alice and more.

Find out more about the best new music for 2019, plus listen to our pick of the acts right here…

1. Another Sky

   

   London-based progressive pop quartet fronted by versatile singer Catrin Vincent, who released their debut EP, Forget Yourself, in January 2018. Watch a beautiful, exclusive live version of their song Tree right here.

   Official website: www.underneathanothersky.com

   

   Another Sky - Tree (Live At Hackney Road)

2. Anteros

   

   Taking their name from the Greek god of requited love, this London quartet is fronted by Laura Hayden, boast influences from Blondie to Brandon Flowers, and describe their sound as “disco with a side of rock". Debut album When We Land arrived in March 2019 - take a listen to the opening track, Call Your Mother here.

   Official website: www.anterosofficial.com

   

   Anteros - Call Your Mother

3. APRE

   

   Charlie Brown and Jules Konieczny met at a chess club in Ealing, West London and their collaboration started out as a side project for two busy musicians, before they decided to focus on APRE. Touting themselves as intelligent, alternative pop, the duo’s latest single Backstreet was released in December 2018l. Watch them perform an exclusive live version of Without Your Love alfresco, especially for Radio X.

   Official Facebook: www.facebook.com/apreband

4. Jade Bird

   

   Raised in South Wales, 21-year-old Jade Bird recorded her first EP, Something American, in Woodstock, New York State and was signed to Glassnote, home to Mumford And Sons. With a voice that recalls Patti Smith and Alanis Morrisette and a sound that mixes Americana and indie pop, Jade’s excellent singles Uh Huh and Love Has All Been Done Before have received daytime airplay on Radio X. See Jade perform live at Radio X's Great X-Pectations gig here.

   Official website: www.jade-bird.com

5. Áine Cahill

   

   Hailing from County Cavan, Ireland, Aine Cahill counts Lana Del Rey, Marina And The Diamonds and classic jazz as influences. She released her debut EP, Paper Crown, independently in 2014. Now signed to Warners, 2018 saw Aine play The Great Escape and Neighbourhood Festivals - you can watch the video for latest single Water Into Wine here.

   Official website: www.ainecahill.com

   

   Áine Cahill - Water Into Wine (Official Video)

6. Cassia

   

   Exuberant indie pop with a touch of Vampire Weekend and Foals, 2018 saw this Macclesfield trio get shortlisted for Best Live Act at the AIM Awards, before selling out the O2 Ritz in Manchester and The Garage in London. 2019 will see them release their debut album, but until then, watch the video to recent single, Loosen Up here.

   Official website: www.wearecassia.com

   

   Cassia - Loosen Up (Official Video)

7. Chappaqua Wrestling

   

   Charlie Woods and Jake Mac have been writing songs together since the age of 14, this Brighton-born, Manchester-based duo name diverse influences such as The Beach Boys and Teenage Fanclub, and claim their music is “sweet-Americana with an electronic swooning twist”. They have an appearance at The Great Escape lined up for 2019 and you can hear their latest single Plant Trees here.

   Official Facebook: www.facebook.com/chappaquawrestling

   

   Chappaqua Wrestling - Plant Trees

8. Easy Life

   

   Beautifully honest lyrics and laid-back beats are the speciality of this Leicester collective, fronted by Murray, whose freewheeling vocals recall Jamie T. Formed in late 2017, the band have toured heavily across the past year, with their debut single Pockets becoming a huge favourite with crowds up and down the country - as you can see from this exclusive glimpse from their show at Think Tank Underground in Newcastle last November!

   Official Facebook: www.facebook.com/easypeasylemonsqueezylife

9. Sam Fender

   

   Born in North Shields, Tyneside, Fender came to the attention of Ben Howard’s manager in 2013 and signed to major label Polydor in the summer of 2018. Sam’s debut single was Play God in March 2017, which was streamed over a million times on Spotify. This was followed by the moving Dead Boys and its accompanying EP at the end of the year and the announcement that the singer-songwriter had won the BRITs Critics’ Choice Award. 2019 will see Sam play Neighbourhood Weekender in Warrington on 26 May.

   Official website: www.samfender.com

10. Fuzzy Sun

    

    Stockport five-piece who dabble in psychedelica-tinged glossy indie pop. 2019 is looking very nice - June sees them perform on the bill at Blossom’s massive Edgeley Park homecoming show and in July they’re playing Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl with The Wombats. Take a listen to their latest track, Heavy, featuring a video shot on their most recent tour.

    Official website: www.fuzzysunband.com

    

    Fuzzy Sun - Heavy (Official Music Video)

11. Indoor Pets

    

    Formerly known as Get Inuit, the name change doesn’t appear to have had any effect on the trajectory of this Kent-based quartet who perform - as they call it - “dirty pop”. Their debut album, Be Content, came out on 8 March 2019 via Wichita Records - take a listen to their latest, Being Strange, here.

    Official website: www.indoorpets.club

    

    Indoor Pets - Being Strange

12. The Mysterines

    

    The Wirral-based garage rock trio of Lia Metcalfe (lead guitar) George Favager (bass) and Chrissy Moore (drums) formed in 2016 and gained an influential fan in the form of The Coral’s James Skelly, who produced their debut single Hormone. The band have supported Miles Kane on his tour earlier this year and they were special guests of the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets in February 2019. Hear their single Hormone here.

    Official Instagram: www.instagram.com/themysterines

    

    The Mysterines - Hormone

13. Sea Girls

    

    Having gained a reputation for their frantic live performances and epic guitar rock sound, Sea Girls have been plying their trade throughout 2018 and released their latest single All I Want To Hear You Say in September. You can get a taste of their amazing live show with this exclusive clip, showcasing the band’s appearances with appearances at Truck, Citadel, All Points East and Leeds festivals across the summer.

    Official website: www.seagirls.net

14. The Snuts

    

    West Lothian’s The Snuts have been creating a buzz throughout 2018, capping off the year with a run of  sold out dates. They issued their Manhattan Project single in September and have already lined up shows at SXSW and Mad Cool festival for 2019. Take a look at them in action at Edinburgh’s La Belle Angele in October.

    Official website: www.thesnuts.co.uk

15. Sophie And The Giants

    

    Fronted by the distinctive voice of Sophie Scott, this Sheffield-based guitar-pop four-piece met at music college in Spring 2017 and released their debut EP, Adolescence, in October. Tom Grennan was so impressed by the band, he had them as support on his European tour last Autumn.

    Official website: www.sophieandthegiants.com

    

    Sophie and the Giants - Waste My Air (Lyric Video)

16. Sports Team

    

    Harlsden’s Sports Team released their debut EP Winter Nets in January 2018 and have since been building up a word-of-mouth buzz across the year, supporting The Magic Gang, Hinds and Rat Boy. Their recent single, Margate, was recorded with Courtney Barnett and they have a stack of live dates lined up for 2019.


    Official Facebook: www.facebook.com/sportsteamband

17. Ten Tonnes

    

    Known to his mum as Ethan Barnett, this 21-year-old from Hertford comes from a musical family and has been mentored by Hugo White of The Maccabees. He released his debut EP Lucy independently, but was quickly snapped up by major Warner Bros. Having toured with Stereophonics and Tom Grennan in 2018, he releases his debut album in April. Get a taste of the track Better Than Me - along with a peek into Ethan’s massive year - via this exclusive clip.

    Official website: tentonnes.com

18. Whenyoung

    

    Chiming guitar pop trio from Limerick, Ireland, whose latest EP Given Up dropped in November. Aoife Power (vocals/ bass), Niall Burns (guitar), Andrew Flood (drums) have released singles such as Heaven On Earth and a cover of the Cranberries classic Dreams, and supported The Vaccines and Blossoms acroos the year. They've just dropped an incredible new track called Never Let Go.

    Official Facebook: www.facebook.com/whenyoungband

    

    whenyoung - Never Let Go

19. Yonaka

    

    Brighton four-piece Yonaka create dark, distorted, beats-heavy guitar rock, fronted by the charismatic Theresa Jarvis. 2018 saw them tour with Bring Me The Horizon, with their latest EP Creature being released in November - the title track quickly found a place on the Radio X playlist.

    Official website: weareyonaka.com

20. Zuzu

    

    This Liverpool singer is also a producer, director, actor and comic book illustrator - and her anthemic songwriting got her a support slot on Courteeners’ recent UK tour.

    Official website: www.thisiszuzuofficial.com

    

    Zuzu - Can’t Be Alone

    Want to know more about her? We asked Zuzu some quick fire questions backstage at one of the gigs - watch how she replied here.