Ask a handful of athletes and one of them will probably say they’d rather come third if they’re not going to be first. Coming tenth would probably be cold comfort then but, given the standard here, tenth isn't really so bad. So, well done Detachments.

Sounding like the Talking Heads or LCD Soundsystem clearly gets you kudos round these parts. Pile on the fact that you kick ass live, with wicked basslines and lots of synthy loveliness, and you know you’re on to something good. Describing themselves as post-punk, these guys have bucketloads of potential stocked up in both 'Circles' and 'Fear No Fear'.

Recently signed to up-and-coming label THISISNOTANEXIT they’ve already bagged themselves a three singles + album deal (the lucky expletives). Catching the attention of French DJ Ivan Smagghe with 'Fear No Fear', things are clearly getting a little exciting round London way. Yes, like many of the acts here these boys are also from the town by the Thames and have been together ‘officially’ since 2007 (although check out R3mote for a little bit of history). So, Detachments…we hear you…frequency good…SUPERSWEET salutes you…over and out… - Matt Coxon

They’ve been hailed as creating a new genre of music – “uneasy listening” by Lobster Quadrille Magazine, but we beg to differ! But then of course in our humble opinion, Vile Imbeciles are rather catchy!

Godzilla Black makes us stand on our tail like a wide eyed meerkat! A true breath of fresh air. They’re Lightning Bolt meets the Melvins meets a pregnant sea urchin.

If David Lynch made a sci-fi action mutant thriller TV soap set inside a floating volcanic island in the Meiji era in Japan, Godzilla Black would be the perfect soundtrack.

As 'Fear Of A Flat Planet' that sounds a bit like the mating call between UFO's, reaches its climax as drummer mrmarkbullock bleets, “I'm the kind of girl that makes you want to get a sex change I'll make tomorrow feel like today is your birthday,” like a precocious machiavellian villan calling home from another dimension. And 'The Drought' is pure gold. Heavy and surreal.

We wait in uncontrollable anticipation for Godzilla Black 'The Album'. And when you see these dark alien mutants making giant waves in the sea, do not fear, no need to feel uneasy - they’re not drowning, they’re waving! - Poppy Sorrell-Hayashi

The Deadly Syndrome are reminiscent of an early Arcade Fire, and we dare you think of that as a bad thing. Recently signed to Dim Mak Records, their latest (and only album) The Ortolan has been lauded by everyone from Filter Magazine to Stereogum, and have, as of late, been taking the US by storm. 

A mixture of indie and folk, the LA foursome are perfect for listening to on a lazy Sunday afternoon, yet perfect for dancing to on a hot summer's evening. Imagine Leonard Cohen in outer space and you're halfway there. Mixing accordion solos with strong doses of dance rock, The Ortolan is reminiscent of a great compilation, something for everyone, yet doesn't take itself too seriously, despite its melancholic air. Every track is gold from the dreamy chords of 'Animals Wearing Clothes'; lead singer Richard Etling croons lyrics like ''Well that includes your heart/And like a rundown shopping cart Goes creaking down the aisle/Throwing sparks and faking smiles,'' to hip shaking indie  banger 'Emily Paints'.

 
The hype is well deserved. - Amy Gordon, Photo By Alan Gastelum

Saying that a band sounds like “themselves” won’t tell you a lot, but, this is how Cop on the Edge would like to be known. Citing New Order, Talking Heads and Giorgio Moroder as their influences, these boys (and girl) are coming straight at you with a heady breeze of, well, whatever they want it seems. Judging by their Myspace page they appear to drift seamlessly between old school new wave and electro-pop madness, all punctuated with some good old falsetto action.

Straight out of s-arf larn-darn, if you wanna catch them whilst their hot and fresh then you’d better get down to Shoreditch/Camden/New Cross soon. In fact, if you want a little more of their flavour then check out a club night they help run, South Eats London, at the New Cross Inn. Fortunately, history is written according to achievements, not just potential. So far, Cop on the Edge have been played on Huw Steven’s Radio 1 show and now …er…they’ve come seventh in the New Bands We Love feature. Well done Cop on the Edge, onwards and upwards. - Matt Coxon

With a name like Graffiti Island you'd think that it would be either a twisted Ray Mears nightmare or Banksy's dream holiday getaway. Indeed, they've got the bad-boy dangers of graffiti charm and the exotic survival expert instinct of a desert Island.

Graffiti Island are adventure. They are the Doors gone on a camping trip to Transylvania, a psychobilly/surf/cryptic/horror musical of Gulliver's Travels, a psychedelic Lord of the Flies, the Big Lebowski set Electric Avenue.

'Mountain Man' is a red sea surf of a midnight feast that will make you want to hit the dance floor and do the zombie twist like a man possessed. It's a primal rain dance in a line dance competition while an effortless deep hypnotic voice is narrating your dark scouting daydreams over the tannoy. When the carnival is over under a full moon Graffiti Island are the last ones left dancing.
 
The bluesy 'Wolf Guy' is driving in the desert chewing a toothpick crooning out, "They say I'm sick," like an original rebel hero. It'll make any red-blooded man, woman, or bear swoon. You say you're sick, we say you're sexy. They go straight for the guts and could bring out the animal instinct in a wooden spoon. And this Easter, we'll be getting a one way-ticket to Graffiti Island! - Poppy Sorrell-Hayashi

Arcade Fire: arguably they spend too much time banging tambourines and resembling a slightly creepy cult where the members all hold hands in supermarkets and wear clothes entirely made out of sackcloth. If half of them died of a mystery illness, and the survivors took to hanging around in gloomy attics, listening to far too many Velvet Underground records, they might start making records with one foot as firmly planted in The Dark Side as the other is in The Light. And that’s where The Last Army fits in.

Although currently searching for a permanent drummer, the main thrust of The Last Army’s line-up has been together since the summer of 2007. And although they are based in London, singer Rebekah’s perchant for French lyrics, and a soon-to-be-inked deal with Spanish label, Liliput, means the band feels as much a European affair as it does British.

With a few London shows scheduled at Punk in the not-too-distant future, with one as the release-party for upcoming single ‘Dead’ on Monday April 21, those of you living within travelcard-distance of Soho will need a damn fine excuse not to bust along to catch them live. - Hugh Platt, Photo By Sal at Wadstock

Scanners are a 'London based rock outfit', based in LA and signed to Dim Mak Records. Comprised of Mat (Vocals), Sarah (Vocals, Bass), the original members, Amina (Guitar, Keys, BVS), a Scanners fan who was a regular at their gigs and Tom (Drums).

Scanners began their careers opening for both Electric Six and Juliette and the Licks. And the influence is certainly apparent. Whilst listening to their album, They are seen as a female fronted version of the Faint, an English Operator Please or Sonic Youth circa the Rather Ripped era, in 'Lowlife', vocalist Sarah Daly howls, “It’s like my skin, turned inside out/And there's no silver here in this cloud” with all the passion and conviction of a young Kim Gordon - a bit of a lazy comparison, but it is certainly an obvious one.

Their album, Violence Is Golden, an eclectic mix of electro, indie and pop, is the kind of album that spawns fans years after its release. 'In My Dreams', for instance, with its dreamy refrain, “You're not alone, you know", is easily the kind of record you could see thousands of disillusioned teenagers swaying along to as they sit plugged into their iPods. Whereas 'Raw' is a foot stomping anthem that wouldn't be out of place played to a crowded dance floor at White Heat. We love Scanners because of their versatility, energy and talent, and we definitely want to see more of them in the future. - Amy Gordon, Photo By Chiara Ambrosio

With vocals like Tom Waits doing an impression of Oscar the Grouch (y’know, the monster that lived in the trash can off Sesame Street), the title track of TheStarkPalace’s The CroMagnon Man EP (which is out now on Shark Batter Records sometime soon), marries some truly expectation-confounding vocals to what sounds like someone trying to cover a George Clinton electro-funk lick on a kazoo. If that hasn’t peaked your interest in this pair of mavericks, then you are merely a soulless husk of a shape masquerading as a human.

Hailing from the Scottish Borders, TheStarkPlace may have formed less than a year ago, but have already garnered attention from muso-quarters. BBC 6Music’s Tom Robinson has already had them in for a live session. Like Captain Beefheart, Brian Eno and Wire, of whom all three the band list as influences, the duo manage to ride the avant-garde like a polar bear riding a mechanical bull – you’re not sure how it works, or why it holds your attention so, but you just can’t ignore it or tear yourself away from it once it grabs you.

With new single, ‘Magdelena's 12 Steps’ – described by the band as “a jaunty Velvet Undergroundish number about an alcoholic wife's crisis of faith” - due in either April or May, and a cover version of a Moondog song for a compilation of the revolutionary street-composer’s works by SL Records in the pipeline, TheStarkPlace are currently trying to work out the best way to reproduce their crazy sounds live. Once they do, you can bet we’ll be there. - Hugh Platt

Emanating from Minnesota, Anni Rossi now finds herself residing in Chicago and Los Angeles during her seemingly off from perpetual touring. Her blend of ethereal and inflected vocals akin to the of the folk playfulness of Joanna Newsom, supported with a classically trained aptitude nurtured from birth and free from structural restraint, Anni Rossi is simply endearing.

Anni orchestrates her songs with a zealous childlike innocents for curiosity and experimentation. The tender arrangements of her tracks often find themselves shift between loud and quiet, accompanied by the aural atmospheric blur of artistically layered instruments, songs such as “Safety Of Objects” and “Wheelpusher” represent not only her propensity towards musical maturation, but also her depth of character and youthful exuberance.

Following the humbling successes of ‘Scandia’, ‘Insects Kissing’ and ‘Sincerely, Anni Rossi’, the multi-instrumental talents and whimsical folk tales of Anni Rossi can be heard supporting The Ting Tings on their UK tour in April, followed by the release of her full-length debut by the end of the year. - Thomas Ward

1 - The Pity Party | MySpace

Our winners this year have come a long way, all the way from Los Angeles. The Pity Party consist of a girl and a guy under the names Heisenflei and M. The duo approach their music like arts & crafts and The Pity Party is the vehicle that allows them to do just that.

Their music is a diverse mix of styles that are hard to pin down. All lyrics have political undertones, magnificently simple in structure but un-simplified by haunting vocals and the ingenious layered guitar sounds over keys. ‘Yours that Works’ is a good example of an ice cold number that epically bursts into flames as it dies down.

While busying ourselves obsessing over this new band, we find the Pity Party is in fact a great surprise. Drummer/vocalist Heisenflei has a brother whom she cites as inspiration, his name is Greg Edwards from Autolux. But she is something of a pioneer herself - playing drums with 2 legs and a hand while the other is constantly on the keyboard as she sings – all at once! Environmentally conscious they are, the pair make their EP packaging out of cereal boxes and screen print on top. You can’t get more SUPERSWEET than this!

Great sound, smart ethics, unique visuals and even blessed with good looks. The Pity Party have pretty much ticked all the boxes and won our hearts all over. We hope they’ll win yours too. - Choltida Pekanan, Photo By Timothy Norris

Read the Pity Party's full interview HERE.