Fellow music freaks, prepare to embark on a weekend-long, high-stakes mission. That’s right…it’s time to choose MTV Iggy’s Artist of the Week !
This is a round-up of five of the best global bands we found this week. You have until Monday night at 11:59 p.m. USA Eastern Standard Time to vote for your favorite new artist on MTV Iggy, using the bottom poll!
On Tuesday morning, the band with the most votes will be featured on the MTV Iggy homepage marquee along with a tell-all interview.
Phinx
Photo Courtesy of Phinx
Italy’s Phinx, a raven-haired quartet who took notes from their all their favorite bands and formed their own guitar-cum-synth masterpiece. Phinx’s electro rock machine propels us into a dance frenzy we remember from Franz Ferdinand, that is, if the post-punk Scots were like, futuristic, and sang about the Internet. The kids started touring, playing 100 dates the next year, and they’ve gotten love from Italian MTV since their debut album, 2010′s Login.
First Aid Kit
Photo Credit: Neil Krug
It’s easy to get spooked listening to First Aid Kit.It’s as if the twanging voices of Nashville past had been reborn in the the suburbs of Stockholm, through the throats of these sisters. Johanna and Klara Söderberg might be from Sweden, but they specialize in roots country that was born in the United States many decades before they were born.
Selah Sue
Photo Courtesy of Getty Images
In the blink of an eye, 22-year-old Belgian guitarist/singer Selah Sue dropped a self-titled debut album, landed a collaboration with Cee-Lo Green, nailed an opening slot for Prince, topped Belgian charts, garnered comparisons to Amy Winehouse, and received the prestigious Prix Constantin award — basically the French Mercury Prize. Her tracks come with a soul gravitas, joy, and honesty the world is only getting from the likes of Nneka and Miseducation archives.
The Jezabels
Photo Courtesy of The Jezabels
Sydney’s The Jezabels aren’t unknown to the world, exactly. Their trilogy of EPs, released between 2009 and 2010, earned them a #1 iTunes slot in Australia, and a rank in the CMJ Top 200 in the US. “Disco Biscuit Love” was one of their hits, solidifying their sound as epic, Arcade Fire-scale poppy rock ‘n roll with 90s alt-grrl tinges. The arrangement on “Disco” is thick with emotion, trumped only by the rounded, Karen O vocals of the pixie-like lead singer Hayley Mary.
Ewert and the Two Dragons
Photo Courtesy of Ewert and the Two Dragons
Their tunes could find a hearty welcome anywhere, but it’s at home in Estonia and the Baltic region where Ewert and his Two Dragons are being hailed as young indie lords. Not only are they critical darlings, but Good Man Down was one of the biggest selling albums in Estonia in 2011. The band’s elegant simplicity in songwriting and expression is a welcome digression from the banjos ‘n’ broken hearts scene ruled by Mumford and Sons, where tortured, world-weary posturing has been the fashion of late.