With the year winding down, here at TMR we're taking the opportunity to look back and pick out our top emerging artists of the last 12 months.

It's been a hell of a year for new music - from South London's rough and ready indie scene, to silky electronic producers soundtracking parties on both sides of the Atlantic, there's been something for everyone.

Over the course of the next few days, we'll be picking out our Top 20 of 2017 - all the best fresh talent that defined the last year.

***

SJOWGREN



Appearing in the summer of 2016 with instant anthem 'Seventeen', Sjowgren have built on that dangerous thing called "hype", to prove themselves as one of the finest purveyors of feel-good indie pop on the planet. Still we know almost nothing about the Bay Area group but their knack for effortlessly empowering cuts (see the almost Arcade Fire-esque 'Now & Then'), and their increasing regularity, signals real intent for the year to come. With the seemingly organic backing of legions of online musos, Sjowgren let the music do the talking and we love what they have to say. -George O’Brien



***

GIRL RAY



Girl Ray’s debut album Earl Grey has got to be one of the coolest releases of this year. Full of gentle, honest and quietly provocative lyrics, it’s a colourful romp through vignettes of North London life. The three-piece, made up of Poppy Hankin (guitar/vocals), Iris McConnell (drums) and Sophie Moss (bass) formed in the corridors of their North London secondary school, and have since released a steady stream of self-styled “estrogen-pop”. Since signing to tastemaker label Moshi Moshi, the band released album Earl Grey in August of this year, and produced one of the coolest videos of 2017, ‘Don’t Go Back At Ten’, which features more hair gel, cargo pants and 90s bucket hats than you can shake a stick at. To top it all off, Girl Ray released a Christmas special ‘(I Wish I Were Giving You A Gift) This Christmas’. Pop it on, grab a glass of something mulled and enjoy Girl Ray’s new take on indie. -Holly Manners



***

TORA



If there’s one reason to shine a light on a band this year, we’d say that taking three years to both carefully construct and playfully experiment with a full album has probably got to be it. Unsurprisingly, that’s the path that Australian four-piece Tora took on the approach to their Take A Rest LP, released on June 9th via Indica Records. It’s generally agreed that few do electronic music better than the Australians: Flume, Nick Murphy, LANKS, Tame Impala, Ry X and an as-far-as-the-eye-can-see landscape of newcomers all contributing to the field. As a result of this rich electronic culture, it takes an extra kind of intuition to step out of the crowd, and with 52 minutes of pure escapism in the form of Take A Rest, we believe Jo Loewenthal, Jai Piccone, Thorne Davis and Shaun Johnston have just that. Over the past year, we shared three of Tora’s diverse electronic tracks with listeners here at TMR. Starting with the dance-leaning, hedonistic gem ‘Empyrean’, to be followed by ‘Love Life’ featuring Loewanthal’s lush falsetto, perfectly paired with soulful strings, quirky synths and a hazy production, and finally pulling up to a stop with ‘Blame’, a laid back groove of a track. What’s characterised all three tracks, and further into the album, is Tora’s use of unpinnable samples and wide-eyed, living-in-the-moment approach to composition, recording and production. It’s something that we discussed in an interview with the Byron Bay band, who say: “We always spend a lot of time experimenting with sounds and samples, most of the samples we use in our tracks are captured with a portable recorder. I would say it’s the most enjoyable element for sure, you never know what you might come across or create - it’s exciting.” Knowing the nature of these musical craftsmen, we can bet that they’re already working on new music, worth waiting another three years for, but we live in hope it won’t be quite so long next time. -Hannah Thacker



***

PELICANDY



Taking a dash of Prince-like pomp and stirring it into a sugar-sweet alt-pop cocktail, Pelicandy are a dancefloor-filling phenomenon in waiting. Like Jungle and Metronomy before them, they create neon-hued depictions of love, lust and late night adventures through warped melodies and sultry storytelling. An impressive showing at TMR's The Great Escape show in Brighton proved that subsequent debut single ‘Animals’ was just the beginning - Pelicandy have the chops to keep the party going 'til sunrise. -Tom Connick



***

GOAT GIRL



It’s been a storming year for Rough Trade signees Goat Girl. Having released a string of brilliant Dan Carey produced singles including ‘Crow Cries’ and ‘Cracker Drool’, the guitar-driven four-piece are setting expectations high for their debut album. 2017 saw the quartet taking their gritty indie rock to the masses, with some packed-out festival performances and their November headline tour selling out nearly all its dates. Their live shows remain raw and energetic containing banger after banger, and despite their growing popularity you can be sure the find the Goat Girls playing some extra special intimate performances at their spiritual home of the Brixton Windmill. You can listen to 'Scream' the brand new b-side to 'Cracker Drool' here now. -Holly Mullineaux



- Check in tomorrow for five more picks from TMR's Top 20 of 2017.