by Alexandra Pollard, Andrew Trendell, James Moore | Photos by Facebook
24 brilliant artists who deserve to be so much bigger
Why are these artists not selling out stadium tours yet?
Metric: Emily Haines and co have been carving stadium-sized pop rock since the turn of the century. The Canadian tour-de-force exist in a timeless space where pop, punk, indie and electronica all meet. They should be topping charts and headlining arenas the world over, but 2012's Synthetica only reached No.52 in the UK. Hopefully their new album, Pagans In Vegas, will remind music fans why Metric are great. Essential track: 'Stadium Love'
Empire of the Sun: Grand stage theatrics, insanely dramatic image, huge beats and a sound bigger than Daft Punk...so why did their latest album, Ice On The Dune, only chart at No.24 in the UK? Essential track: 'Walking On A Dream'
Ezra Furman: Furman has pricked a few more ears with the release of his third solo album, Perpetual Motion People, this year... but it, and his releases with the Harpoons, deserve much, much more attention. From the days of the brilliantly facetious 'Take Off Your Sunglasses', Furman has been breaking the boundaries of pop music, and, with his unabashed gender fluidity, he's contributed to an ever increasing genderqueer dialogue.
Mitski: With three albums under her belt, the most recent of which - 2015's Bury Me A Makeout Creek - veers with reckless abandon between heartbreaking vulnerability and loud, rocky outbursts. Her lyrics are often stark and deeply poignant, and, not that it's particularly important, but her social media presence is endlessly wise. Essential track: 'Townie'
Wild Nothing: This dream-like virginia rock band create expansive soundscapes by mixing traditional rock instruments with orchestral elements as well. They're perfect for long drives or intense, closed eyes headphone sessions. Esential track: 'Shadow'
Listener: Drawing heavily from beat poetry and influential artists like Patti Smith, Dan Smith unleashes a stream of consciousness style with his vocals. Combined with unforgettably hard riffs, horns and crashing percussion, it makes for an exhausting but unforgettable listening experience. Essential track: 'I Don't Want To Live Forever'
Tellison: At 12 years strong, these intelligent and inventive indie rockers have plugged away ferociously as a bunch of their peers fell into obscurity. Combining sharp wit with crisp guitars and raw melodies, their debut album Contact Contact hosts a stack of jangly indie anthems that'll lodge themselves firmly in your psyche after only a couple of listens. Essential track: 'Henry Went To Paris'
The Decemberists: Singing songs of murder, betrayal and infanticide in bygone times, they're often credited as the band that paved the way for Mumford & Sons - albeit much less contrived and far more poetic and forward-thinking. It's a shame they haven't matched the same stadium success as Mumford, but we love them all the same. Essential track: 'We Both Go Down Together'
dEUS: Given that their band name is Latin for 'God' or 'deity', dEUS clearly agree with us that they deserve to be followed with a bit more dedication than their seven albums have garnered thus far. Huge in mainland Europe, but not so much over here, they've inspired the likes of Radiohead, Muse, Soulwax and beyond with their genre-defying blend of jazz, grunge, electro and more. Essential track: 'Architect'.
No Ceremony: Their atmospheric trip-hop credentials are perfect for the current (wonderful) resurgence of Portishead-types. No Ceremony should have been booked for every festival this summer, and proved how much they deserve to be big, but instead, they're only playing at Wychwood Festival. Given their distrust of the spotlight though, and the veil of mystery in which they are shrouded, this might actually suit them quite well. Essential track: 'FEELSOLOW'
The Antlers: Their third album Hospice, which featured Sharon Van Etten, was utterly, beautifully devastating, and should have led to a Foals-like ascendance to headliner status and world domination. Instead, the band remain criminally underrated and underappreciated. Not only was Burst Apart one of the best albums of 2011, but we can't stop listen to this year's Familiars - it's a shame that it hasn't sold the millions it deserves. Essential track: 'I Don't Want Love'.
Say Lou Lou: When it was announced at the end of last year that Say Lou Lou had made it onto the BBC Sound of 2014 longlist, we thought the floodgates were sure to open for the Australian/Swedish twin sister duo to be played on the radio non-stop. It's August now though, and if they are the sound of 2014, we must have gone deaf. Amazing as they are (and they are really amazing), we're annoyed that they aren't playlisted on every radio station, all the time. Essential track: 'Beloved'
Mo: Our CMS might hate the slash that should be in her name, but we love everything about her. The Danish electro-pop singer makes tune after tune of catchy, current, electropop, but with more edge and soul than most of the artists with which she is, it would seem, competing. Basically, we don't quite understand why the release of her debut album in March didn't pave the way to Mo becoming massive. Essential track: 'Pilgrim'
Oh Land: The best thing to come out of Denmark since bacon, Nanna Oland Fabricius is a magnificent pixie of pop who trades in tinkling melodic vocals and tight, punchy percussive beats. Three albums into her career, we're scratching our heads as to why the record-buying public haven't propelled to a Florence Welch level of fame yet. Essential track: 'Sun Of A Gun'
Yourcodenameis:milo: With riffs as big as Muse, post-hardcore as hard as AtTheDriveIn and an awkward awesomeness that could challenge Biffy, Yourcodenameis:milo's early output seemed as if they were destined to be real contenders. After a few blinding EPs, two brilliant albums and a collaborative LP with the likes of Bloc Party and Lethal Bizzle, the band failed to find their way out of the support slot and toilet venue tour circuit and currently find themselves on an 'indefinite hiatus', and that's all YOUR FAULT. Essential track: '17'
Fenech-Soler: Phwoar. That's some sexy synth pop. With disco-dominating beats this huge, they should be all over the radio and topping festivals with the likes of Disclosure and Rudimental. On paper, they're perfect for a mainstream crossover. In reality, they're still touring pretty tiny venues. Essential track: 'Lies'
Dragonette: Icona Pop could learn a thing or two from these electro-pop darlings about how to pen an endless string of pop classics. In return, they could give them some advice on how to top the charts. Essential track: 'Let It Go'
Okkervil River: These US alt-folk geniuses have some of the finest lyrics and most searing sounds that you're ever likely to hear. Essentially, they're the band that Mumford & Sons wish they were. If only they shifted a fraction of the same units. Essential track: 'Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe'
British Sea Power: 'Exceed The National Average' is the in-band slogan of BSP. They certainly do that. Six albums into their career, their sound only grows more and more majestic as their status as eccentric indie heroes cements them firmly as the biggest small band in Britain. Essential track: 'Remember Me'
Tom Vek: This undefinable but amazing underground alt-rock cult hero is unlikely to be coming overground any time soon, which is a huge shame. Taking six years between his first and second album probably didn't help much - but at least his latest didn't take so long. Either way, awesome but underappreciated. Essential track: 'Aroused'
Airborne Toxic Event: Huge sweeping strings, epic and grandoise choruses and an approach that falls somewhere between The Killers and Arcade Fire. Alas, if only they had the same following. Essential track: 'Sometime Around Midnight'
Crystal Fighters: Not only are they a genre-defying out of body experience, but they're probably the best festival band on the planet. They should be waaay higher up line-ups and on everyone's iPod by now. Essential track: 'Separator'
Pnau: Talking of Empire of the Sun, half of them is also in Pnau - a brilliantly infectious dance duo from Australian. Elton John loves them, so why don't the rest of you? Eh? Essential track: 'Embrace'
Blonde Redhead: For nearly 20 years and eight albums, these New Yorkers have been inspiring a generation of dream-pop copyists with their sweet, subtle psych sounds. But mention their name to most people on the street and prepare to be met with blank stares. Coming to a small venue near you soon. Essential track: '23'
Tags: Metric, Crystal Fighters, Empire Of The Sun Photo: PRESS
We've championed a lot of up-and-coming bands at Gigwise over the years. Many of them - Years & Years, Chvrches, Royal Blood, Wolf Alice - have gone on to be huge.
It gives us a warm glow; a mixture of pride and smug satisfaction. But there are a few who, despite having all the right ingredients, just haven't quite ascended to the stardom we feel they deserve.
From Oh Land to British Sea Power via Mitski, here are 24 brilliant artists who should be massive... but aren't.