New Band Tips for 2010 (Part 2)

It’s not easy being the next big thing. One moment you’re being tipped by bloggers and music writers all over the Internet, the next you’re passé, over the hill, dumped just as quickly as you were picked up. It really is a hard knock life after all. Fortunately the Banded’s list of artists to watch in 2010 are Teflon covered, flame resistant, water-tight guarantees of hitting the big time. Perhaps. Here’s part two of our list of new bands to watch out for in the year 2010.

1. Das Racist



So much has already been written about Das Racist, aka New York rappers Himanshu Suri and Victor Vazquez, that it barely seems they qualify as a "new" band anymore. But "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell" should serve as a mere taster for their debut album, whenever that may surface, because their current live show is one of the most entertaining, intelligent, and laugh-out-loud funny experiences you can have with your clothes on.

2. Sisters



This Brooklyn-based duo are a product of the same loft space (Death by Audio) that produced A Place to Bury Strangers, and like to play just as loud as their neighbors. Sisters are a duo, Aaron Pfannnebecker and Matt Conboy, who perform before a teetering stack of amps and play with an intensity and abandon reminiscent of Dinosaur Jr's classic You're Living All Over Me. Various singles have already been issued, but Sisters need to be experienced live.

3. Sleigh Bells



Surfer Blood were much hyped at this year's CMJ, but a band that splintered off from them, Sleigh Bells, are a far more enticing proposition. Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss already have some famous fans--Mos Def jammed with them at a recent New York show, and M.I.A. and Spike Jonze have been seen checking them out. They clearly don't need much of a boost, but the Sleigh Bells MySpace page is still worth perusing, as it demonstrates an earth-flattening guitar sound, a hip-hop undertow, and some infernally catchy vocal melodies.

4. Dum Dum Girls



New Sub Pop signings Dum Dum Girls are ostensibly a solo project for singer/guitarist Dee Dee, who recently shaped the band into a full-pelt all-girl group for a set of live shows. Their music is honeyed '60s garage pop, with looks and attitude to match. Phil Spector would surely love to be in the producers chair to help sculpt Dee Dee's pop sensibility, but she's doing just fine on her own, and the debut Dum Dum Girls album should be one of the most strident and impressive releases of early '10 ("early '10" still doesn't feel quite right).