I know that these bands will be big this year...
These are my picks for the year (one British, one Scottish, two Canadian, one from California):
1. Thew View - I was actually flying to New York City for one night only to see these Scots, but they had to postpone the show due to visa problems. They were discovered by everyone's fave junkie, Pete Doherty, and their producer's Owen Morris (Oasis' Definitely Maybe). Once they get over here, they're going to be ridiculous! Just try to get their songs out of your head, you won't be able to. "I've had the same jeans on for four days now..." The chorus to "Wasted Little DJ's" is in Pig Latin! They'll be this years Arctic Monkeys (only better in my opinion).
2. Tokyo Police Club - They're like the Canadian version of the Strokes. A post-pop/punk, anti-establishment wonder. The lyrics of the first song on their album have their name in it, which I think is a brilliant marketing tactic.
3. Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards is just a great, great album. They're touring with TPC, and I'm going to see them down the street from my house at Vinyl! Not to mention, they are awfully cute, all of them.
4. Bloc Party - I don't like them because they preach against the horrid depressed, drug-induced party weekends of people in London, and yet they are the worst offenders. However, you'll probably like them.
5. Arcade Fire - The tickets to their concert in NYC went for $1000 on the exchanges, but people still paid it. That's dedication.
Here's a video of the View: