The Next Big Thing: an A-Z of 2010 – Part 5

Muchuu
The new… Slow Club
I’ve decided Muchuu are the indie Same Difference. They’re a young, attractive brother and sister duo, brown and blonde-haired respectively, and they’re just as adorably cute as their ace brand of indie-pop music. Milky’s vocals remind me a little of Ellie Goulding, but they succeed in being cute where Ellie’s are only annoying, probably because of the jaunty background music and the smiley music videos. I look forward to seeing Muchuu on the festival circuit this year, where I have no doubt that they will charm the socks off anyone who comes across them. For now, go and watch their video for Get Away Train – it never fails to make me smile.
Poptasticness: 80% Hit potential: 61%

Music Go Music
The new… ABBA
I don’t know if sounding exactly like ABBA is enough to earn this Los Angeles trio worlwide fame, but it’s certainly enough to win my affection. I’ve been obsessed with their single Light Of Love for several months now and I recently bought their album, which I have been extremely pleased with. ABBA may not have plans to make any more albums, but Expressions will do very nicely as a substitute. In fact, I think Light of Love sounds even more like ABBA than Thank You by Alcazar – it’s totally ABBA-tastic and that is a very good thing indeed!
Poptasticness: 98% Hit potential: 57%

Ou Est Le Swimming Pool
The new… MGMT
Ou Est (as they are usually known) were one of my favourite discoveries of 2009, and from the crowd reaction at their gigs, plus their strong support from Radio 1, it’s surprising that they’re not huge by now. I have to wonder if it’s ever going to happen, but they were included in the longlist for Sound of 2010, so that suggests there’s hope yet. I just can’t comprehend a world where Dance The Way I Feel and The Key are not hits, or where Ou Est’s album is never released. It’s just weird that it’s taking so long to catch on.
Poptasticness: 81% Hit potential: 68%

Penguin Prison
The new… Ali Love
Unimpressed by his Erik Hassle remix, I was ignoring Penguin Prison until recently – a shame, because he’s actually quite ace! Penguin Prison is a one man band, with Chris Glover singing, producing and playing all the instruments himself. He fits in well enough with the sound of cool New Yorkers like LCD Soundsystem, but to me seems more similar to British electro-retro-poppers like Ali Love, with vocals reminiscent of Patrick Wolf. His latest two singles, A Funny Thing and Animal Animal, are both ace, and although he doesn’t have any songs with international megahit potential so far, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did magic one up in the next few months.
Poptasticness: 77% Hit potential: 58%

Polly Mackey and the Pleasure Principle
The new… Charlotte Hatherley
Polly Mackey is an interesting pop prospect – will she be whisked away from her ugly backing band to glamorous solo stardom, will they tag along on her coat-tails to success or will their presence prevent Polly from ever being more than a ‘coulda been’? So far she’s been hanging around on the periphery of the indie-pop scene, very gradually gaining followers, but still lacking the momentum that’s necessary to make her a star. Perhaps she is too normal, and can’t therefore compete with the quirkily flamboyant indie-pop girls like Florence and Marina, but she is a talented young lady with some lovely songs, so I’m hoping she attracts a lot more attention in 2010.
Poptasticness: 72% Hit potential: 45%