Frightened Rabbit – “State Hospital”

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After a number of records that went painfully under-appreciated, Scottish indie outfit Frightened Rabbit finally hit their stride with the sensational “State Hospital”. Scott’s voice hasn’t lost a thread of its native twang and we love him even more for it. Hard to deny that this is an insanely beautiful song and the accompanying visuals are moving to boot.

This one’s taken from their forthcoming record “Pedestrian Verse” that is out in February, which will hopefully give us more of the same.

Big Sean, Jay-Z & Kanye West – “Clique”

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Clique, Clique, Clique, Clique… one of the most infectious and explosive tracks of the year will leave you with that one word in your head. It’s catchy, arrogant, rude yet one of the biggest tracks of the year. Each rapper drops a great verse but Kanye West is in prime form with rhymes about ignorant riches, CIA meetings and building Rome in a day.

Porter Robinson – “Language”

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Even though he has said in the past that he isn’t interested in making pop music, “Language” is this was the closest that Porter Robinson has come to it so far.

His gamble paid off, with “Language” becoming his biggest single to date rising to a formidable #9 in the UK charts this Summer. Even if he chooses not to make hits like this in the future, he can definitely use this as a springboard on to bigger and better things in 2013.

Mikky Ekko – “Pull Me Down”

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Clams Casino‘s brand of music has so far been associated with mostly hip-hop artists, but his decision to link up with Mikky Ekko on “Pull Me Down” was a masterstroke that has resulted in one of the singles of the year with the dreamy “Pull Me Down“.

Apparently the talented pair have a series of songs recorded between them, which we can expect to get our hands on in 2013.

Russ Chimes – “Back 2 You”

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Although Russ Chimes only gave us one official single release in 2012 he still managed to get the most airplay he has ever had in his career. This was indeed thanks to the stellar single “Back 2 You” – an incredible 8-bit inspired electro number, which has had unsuspecting Radio 1 listeners trembling with excitement every time it hits the airwaves.

Please Mr. Chimes, I want some more.