THE new year has started and resolutions are rife.
Here's our pick of the top 10 bright new things in the music world to watch out for in 2015, along with the odd established name ready to go one step further.
1. James Bay
IF the singer songwriter genre is a bit like music's spaghetti junction - heavily congested and hard to pick out a Ferrari from a Ford Focus - James Bay could be one troubadour ready to navigate his way through the traffic.
Following in the footsteps of Adele and Sam Smith, Bay was picked last month as the Brits Critic's Choice 2015.
'Hold Back The River' was his first offering, followed by 'Let It Go', the 24-year-old's biggest success to date.
Seems like a nice chap, and you way well have already noticed his jaunty hat.
2. Hozier
Andrew Hozier Byrne is hardly an unknown after breakthrough single Take Me To Church racked up 60-odd million views on YouTube, and a Grammy nomination to boot.
But he's only one album in, his self-titled debut released in September last year.
The promise of 'Take Me To Church' has yet to be replicated by other singles released so far, although the album went down a storm in the States.
Classically trained, his blend of blues rock and haunting folk is a heady combination, and 2015 could be a huge year for the much-heralded Irish singer.
3. Wolf Alice
The folk rockers from North London are of rising stock, with second EP 'Creature Songs' turning more than a few heads.
Comparisons with the xx aren't quite on the money as Wolf Alice, although alternative, feel a bit more poppy, but it points you in the right direction.
Check out 'Blush' and 'Fluffy', and get ready for a debut album this year.
4. Bipolar Sunshine
Being on a one-to-watch list after five years in a band who ultimately sank without a trace, is no mean feat.
That's where former Kid British co-vocalist Adio Marchant finds himself under solo operation Bipolar Sunshine. 'Love More Worry Less', 'Where Did The Love Go' and 'Deckchairs On The Moon' have all featured on EPs of ear-friendly indie-pop which keeps you feeling warm and fuzzy. Aaaah.
'Daydreamer' is next up in February.
5. SOAK
A dab hand at a few instruments, the folk singer's raw vocals tell stories of adolescence from friendship to falling in love.
Her stage name stems from mixing up soul and folk, but her sound is more loyal to the latter.
Single 'Blud' is a good place to start.
6. Little Simz
British artists rarely break into the American rap scene.
But ambitious London artist, Little Simz, is hoping to change the presumption that homegrown talent cannot make the cut in the country dominated by talented rappers.
Simbi Ajikawo, is just 20 but has already toured with ScHoolboy Q.
After a BBC Radio 1 debut last year, her freestyles are well worth a look.
7. Rhodes
Hailing from the same neck of the Hertfordshire woods as James Bay, David Rhodes is two EPs into a fledgling career full of promise.
'Always' got some radio play in 2013, before 'Your Soul' resulted in a Radio 1 premiere from next-big-thing-string-puller Zane Lowe in March last year.
Rhodes' debut UK headline tour in 2014 included three sell-out London gigs.
More vocal lead than your average guitar-plucker, Rhodes soars his way through love and loss and makes it all sound quite uplifting, in a kind of you-also-want-to-make-me-cry-a-bit way.
8. Public Access TV
As it stands, the hype is heavy and things like sales are yet to quite take off.
But one often follows the other, and new wave band Public Access TV have the makings of Americans who can strut their stuff on this side of the Atlantic.
Frontman John Eatherly has been round the block with other bands but this is his first lead role.
Enjoy rock that sounds eighties, in a good way, with a spot of contemporary cut and thrust.
9. Slaves
If the idea of a band used to be typically a four person affair, it seems two is the new magic number.
From White Stripes, to the Black Keys, bands with two members ain't done bad either, and Slaves follows that blueprint.
Aggressive garage rock with plenty of swagger and attitude, the Tunbridge Wells chaps are not to be confused with a Californian group bearing the same moniker.
10. Mick Jenkins
Having recently released his mixtape The Water[s], Mick Jenkins is being tipped to take the hip-hop scene by storm this year.
The 23-year-old Chicago rapper is bringing another dimension to the music world with his unique lyrical aura, in comparison to much of the overused themes associated some mainstream rap.
Following the release of Jenkins’ first mixtape - The Micktape - in 2012, he has been growing an underground fan base, and is now primed for mainstream success.
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