Ten Million Colours - Slow

Mixing U2-esque reverb-heavy guitar with feisty pop punk vocals, Milton Keynes up-and-comers Ten Million Colours make a break for a bright, enticing world of opportunity with their new single Slow.

The track makes for a well-produced blend of influences that fits the band and their eagerness well - it doesn't ape the profusion of moody introspective indie types around at the moment and instead feels like a move towards a more enabled, open future.

With a video featuring masked ninjas and eerie-eyed people clothed all in white, as things progress outside to a harsh concrete landscape, it all goes a bit Clockwork Orange. Weird, but always tastefully so.

At both the song and the video's heart though is a definite drive to innovate, to prove themselves, and on that front, Ten Million Colours do an impressive, invigorated job of things.

Slow is available to download on iTunes now.

Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again

In case you haven't already heard of Michael Kiwanuka, he's basically the singer songwriter to look out for in 2012, and quite frankly, his talent speaks for himself.

Listening to new single Home Again is like listening to an old classic, a song woven into the tapestry of musical history and the past itself. There's a sense of legacy to it, a voice that speaks of culture, the land and its people.

I urge everyone to go and listen to previous single I'm Getting Ready, which is even better. Coming from the small beginnings of a humble MySpace page and London gigs, Kiwanuka took to Jools Holland's Later show last week, one imagines it won't be the last time he graces our TV screens.

Touting an old Bob Dylan box set given to him by a friend as one of his many influences, Home Again is the sound of a man ready to speak his own piece on the world, to lay down his own hymn to life.

Home Again is released on the 1st January and can be pre-ordered on iTunes here.

Friendly Fires - Blue Cassette

As everyone's writing their end of year lists, it seems fitting to revisit Friendly Fires, who - in Pala - delivered one of the finest LPs of the year. New single Blue Cassette stands as a well-rounded representative of the record as a whole, no surprise then that they offered it earlier this year as a free download on iTunes.

Revolving in a twitchy vortex of reversed noises and click-beats, the track boasts all the hallmarks of the bouncy, 80s-inspired synth drive that powers Pala's heart.

What Friendly Fires proved with the album was that they were the indie sweethearts with the intelligence to not be afraid of writing bloody brilliant pop hooks, and Blue Cassette stands as one of the finest examples of that.

Anyone who flicked on the TV over summer will have probably seen some of the band's impressive Reading & Leeds sets, and with tracks like these - the epitome of crowd pleasing hooks paired with slick, trendy coolness - it's plain to see why the band commanded such ecstatic crowds.

Blue Cassette is released on the 12th December.

Delilah - Love You So

From the low key stylings of Delilah's haunting debut single Go, I don't think anyone could have guessed what a drop of sheer delight and bewonderment she would deliver next.

For that is what Love You So is. A full package of high-styled image and tantalisingly bleak string melodies, it's the meeting point between art and pop. And Delilah's PopArt is neither bright or brash, but instead sinuously lean and dark sounding. The video is equally arresting - whether it's the bizarre melange of black and white retro footage or Delilah's posturing, you can't tear your eyes away.

It's sort of a bit Massive Attack-y, gone by way of Yasmin; but the resulting end product is resolutely Delilah's own. Placed on your average 'hit music' radio station, you can guarantee there won't be anything else quite like Love You So on there.

So many songs tell stories of love, but if one thing can be said of Love You So, it's that it marks the subject with the most terrifying of brush-strokes. Here, love is a thing of decay, of death, of fractured porcelain and burning letters - and it's testament to Delilah's world-worn vocals that she manages to convey all that in three minutes of utterly magical pop.

Love You So is released on the 19th December.

Mohombi - In Your Head [Behind The Scenes vid]

If you were looking to place bets on who's going to be big in 2012, Mohombi would definitely be on your shortlist.

We covered his ace Nicole Scherzinger collab Coconut Tree a few weeks ago and his new single In Your Head sounds equally promising - it's a big, epic Written In The Stars style bit of pop and packs a chorus the size of a country.

The track's video is out on Friday, but in the mean-time, he's a behind the scenes look to suitably whet your appetite.

Niki & The Dove - Mother Protect

New Niki & The Dove single Mother Protect isn't what you'd call understated. Dripping in tribal beats and the varied his and crackle of bruised, antique vinyl, the track lurches from place to place - a veritable safari of noise.

Like a more animalistic Florence & The Machine, Mother Protect is quirky, individual pop at its most dark and shadowy. Its the stuff dredged up from the blackest of caves, raised now raw and fresh-beating.

Mid track the song reaches a jaw-dropping pitch-raising medley of sheer noise that hits you like a jet fighter. Niki & The Dove at times feels less like a musician, more like a sonic warrior, waging war with an assortment of high powered sounds - it's a formidable arsenal and one she uses to impressive effect.

With the NME Radar tour and support slots with Hurts behind her, Mother Protect makes for an irresistible continuation of The Drummer EP project.

Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Pictures

When it comes to tuneful acoustic dities, Benhamin Francis Leftwich is your go-to dude. New single Pictures is every bit as suffused with hazy, folk-tinged melodies as the rest of his album - in releasing it, Leftwich returns to his beginnings.

Originally released as part of a four track EP back in March this year, Pictures - a firm fan favourite - is here given a new lease of life, another opportunity to share its beautiful merits with the public at large. In its haunting etherealness, Leftwich presents a moving retrospective of life.

Pictures is released on the 20th February.

You can also catch Benjamin at the following tour dates next year:

20 - The Globe - Cardiff
21 - Komedia - Bath
22 - Shepherd’s Bush Empire - London
23 - Academy 2 - Manchester
24 - ABC2 - Glasgow