13 bands to watch for in 2013

As 2012 comes to a close, we've been making predictions about which bands are going to make it big in the coming year. Last year, we had high hopes for Walk the Moon and Yellow Ostrich, who had wowed us with their awesome EPs in 2011, and their baller full-length albums in 2012 killed it. [Editors Note: We're also attributing what we call the "Harry Potter Bump" to a sizable portion of their success.]

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So, we've look into our crystal balls (a.k.a. iTunes) to list out the top 13 musical acts that we predict will make it big (or at least bigger) in 2013. These musicians have released EPs in the past year, and in some cases, we've just heard a couple of songs from them, but nevertheless, we're expecting big things for all of them in the coming year.

Click ahead to see who we predict you'll be listening to next year, and hop over to 8tracks for a complete playlist.

1. The Royal Concept
These Swedes are a staple on pretty much every playlist we make, and with their awesome stage presence, Phoenix-like vocals, and rugged Scandinavian good looks, we have no doubt that we've got a lot more to hear from them.


2. HAIM
This trio of sisters is reviving the 90s pop that we grew up loving, and each of the mere five songs they've released is better than the last. (HAIM, if you're taking applications, the three of us are more than happy to play you in your next music video.)


3. Swiss Lips
We feel something brewing with these British lads. They only have a few songs released, but they've been taking Manchester by storm after hosting a series of house parties/concerts this fall (we considered buying tickets to England...). And not only is their music indie-pop perfection, they also have one of the most entertaining instagram accounts on our feed.


4. St. Lucia
These South Africans have already had one of their songs featured in a coveted Victoria's Secret commercial, putting them on the same rise to fame that M83 had last year. Plus, they're incredible live. We have nothing but high hopes for these guys.


5. Carousel
One of our very first Band Maths, Carousel is about to be the new Passion Pit on the block. We already love them for appeasing our fondness for awkward pictures, and each new song they release is only making us love them more.

6. CHVRCHES
"The Mother We Share" is one of our most favorite songs of 2012, and we're keeping our fingers crossed that these talented Scots travel across the pond to perform for us in the coming year.

7. How To Dress Well
If his name alone doesn't convince you, this dude is one of the coolest musical acts out there. "& It Was U" is making neo-soul a thing we want more and more and more of in our lives.

8. Foxes

When we interviewed Foxes earlier this year, she was just getting ready for her first trip to the U.S. Since then, she's appeared on pretty much every fashion blog we love and has left everyone who's come in contact with her utterly charmed in her wake.

9. Fashions
One of the newest bands on the scene with only three songs released, these Brooklynites are putting out some awesome New Wave music. We'd like to hear more, please and thank you.

10. Zak Waters
Zak won us over with his skinny dipping skills this summer, and the rest of his jams have been our go-to commuting jams every day (much to the delight of our fellow Metro commuters, we're sure...).


11. IconaPop
There must be something in the water in Sweden that breeds pop perfection. First it was Robyn, now it's girl power duo IconaPop. We dare you not to love this song (Snooki and Jwoww already do, so...).


12. AlunaGeorge
This British duo is producing such sultry, ripe-for-remixing jams that we sometimes feel like they're too cool for us. Either way, we love everything that they're doing and can't wait for them to get over the U.S. next year.


13. Body Language
It's hard to believe that these guys haven't put out a full album yet because we're already obsessed with both of their EPs. If their next releases are anything like this year's Grammar EP, we've got a lot of good dancing in store for 2013.


Listen to all of our up-and-coming favorites over on 8tracks!