The Ting Tings

Formed in Salford in 2007, The Ting Tings have become well known in their home country. After their first two singles - the Switchflicker released double-A side That's Not My Name / Great DJ (both of which would be singles in their own right) in May and Fruit Machine in November - got the twosome signed to Columbia Records and Great DJ was the first fully released single in February 2008. The other side of the double A came out in May, and got them their first UK #1 and subsequent mainstream success. Their debut, We Started Nothing, came out the week after on the 19th and also charted at #1. First post-album single Shut Up And Let Me Go in July also performed successfully, peaking at #6, but fellow post-album singles Be The One in October and We Walk in February performed poorly in comparison, with neither of them breaking the Top 20. Their second album, Massage Kunst, is set for either a late 2010 or early 2011 release. Great DJ's video is below, with downloads after.

Passion Pit

Massachusetts' Passion Pit was originally the solo project of Michael Angelakos (who then recruited four more people to support him) and has received intense critical acclaim from many journalists and the music media. His first release, an EP released in September 2008 called Chunk Of Change, was originally a four-track affair written in late 2007 as a Valentine's Day gift to his then-girlfriend. But after signing to New York's Frenchkiss Records, the Neon Gold-released double-A side Sleepyhead / Better Things (issued before they'd signed) was added to the EP upon its September release. The Reeling was the first single off the group's album, Manners, which was released in May 2009, followed by To Kingdom Come and Little Secrets. Sleepyhead's video is below, as are the downloads.

Hot Chip

Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard are the brains behind Hot Chip. Having been friends since their school years, the falsetto-powered Taylor and the deep brooding bass of Goddard have given the London five-piece one of the more trademark band sounds in recent years. The duo's first release was in 2000 on the Victory Garden Records label; the Mexico EP has a much different alt. rock sound to later releases, with the more prominent use of guitars, with the six-and-a-half minute instrumental closer Mersion/Version being incredibly related to the sound of Blur's self-titled, although the EP itself has some electronic input. Follow-up 2002 EP, the 50-only CD-R Sanfrandisco E-Pee, bridged the gap between the debut and the pair's first release on the ever-excellent Moshi Moshi Records, the Down With Prince EP in 2003. This EP showcased some examples of the twosome's contrasting vocal styles and tunes that would form their debut album, the Neo Soul Coming On Strong, released in May 2004 as a limited 500-only 8 track LP version and the standard CD version containing 11 tracks. This album has more of a hip-hop feel than later full-lengths, with the only single to be released from the album being the faux-gangsta rap Playboy, which hit #102 in the UK charts. During this album, the duo had formally expanded to become a five-piece, with many thanks to Al Doyle, Felix Martin, and Owen Clarke, although Taylor and Goddard were still the mind and soul of the Hot Chip body. The group then signed to EMI, where after the 2005 release of The Barbarian EP, one of their more recognised tracks, Over and Over was released in February 2006, hitting #32 on the charts (although the October 2006 reissue increased on its original position by 5 places). The Warning, Hot Chip's major label debut, was released in June 2006, and had removed the Neo Soul aspect of their work and replaced it with more electronic tones. Aside from the reissue of Over And Over, the other two singles off the album, And I Was A Boy From School and Colours, did not succeed as well as Over And Over had done. This was set to change with the follow-up to The Warning, entitled Made In The Dark. With this album, the group found mainstream success, especially with the second pre-album single Ready For The Floor charting at #6. This was to be the only successful single from the album, with Shake A Fist being a limited 12", One Pure Thought only hitting #53, and Hold On/Touch Too Much being classified as an EP and not a single. Regardless, the album sold well, hitting #4 in the UK charts and was also certified Gold by the BPI. 2010 saw the release of the group's fourth album, One Life Stand, which, with no track being shorter than four minutes, is a move away from standard alt. dance and into more experimental territory, with the singles so far being One Life Stand and the infamous I Feel Better, infamous because of its Peter Serafinowicz-directed video. The great Nima Nourizadeh-directed video for Over and Over is below, with downloads following on.

The Go! Team

Never has there been a been a musical project whose studio and live outputs are polar opposites. Ian Parton's group, however, fit this perfectly. While most of the studio work is done by Parton himself, the live show features two drummers and the mad raps from lyricist Ninja. Their work is immensely fun and positive (save for their cover of Paul Giovanni's Willow's Song) and a real pick-me-up for any negative feelings you may have. Ms. Pac-Man features in their video for Junior Kickstart, which is below.

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Friendly Fires

Although categorised as an alternative dance or dance-punk group, the St. Albans trio are actually a highly diverse group. Within their debut self-titled, there's elements of shoegaze and alternative rock, along with their categorised genres; there's most likely something for everyone on the album. One of their more alt. rock tracks, On Board, can be viewed below.

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