January 7th, 2014 
James Shotwell 
It’s that time of year again!
Since 2009, the UTG staff has set aside the first few days of the new year to discuss which bands we thought were destined to take their careers to another level in the months ahead. This discussion eventually became our now beloved ‘5 Artists to Watch’ feature, and in the years since that column’s initial debut we have had the pleasure of giving early exposure to some of music’s biggest acts. This year’s list was the toughest to create to date, but we finally settled on five acts we believe everyone will be talking about in 2014.
After you read through the list below and experience all the great music we have included, please be sure to comment at the end of this post and let us know who you think will be the name on everyone’s lips this year. Whether it’s rock, rap, country, folk, pop, or EDM-oriented, we want to hear it! Share your choices and let us know what you think ours. Music is best when shared with friends.
UTG’s 5 Artists To Watch In 2014
Sledding With Tigers (Facebook | Twitter)
Hailing from the West Coast, Sledding With Tigers kicked off 2014 by announcing plans to release their debut album through Antique Records in the early months of the year. Their sound is best described as a cross between The Front Bottoms and Mixtapes, with a little bit of Kimya Dawson’s pop sensibilities added for flavor. They’re not quite punk and they’re not quite folk, but we have definitely fallen in love with their music over the last year. Stream “Never Really Good At Sports” below, then head over to Bandcamp and download their album, Not The Beatles Yet, for free. You won’t regret it.
Fearless Vampire Killers (Facebook | Twitter)
If we are being completely honest there were more than a few UTG contributors trying to hold back laughter upon learning the name of this band, but not a soul was chuckling after hearing the rock fury they create. Fearless Vampire Killers came onto our radar in mid-2013 thanks to our dear friend William Control, who also produced the band’s forthcoming full-length release. Their unique approach to modern alt-rock combines elements of early My Chemical Romance with the punk ethos of groups like The Misfits, culminating in a one-of-a-kind sound that is just as infectious as it is abrasive. We do not know when their new album will be released, but we do know the world will not be the same once people hear what they have in store.
FS came across our radar when AbsolutePunk editor-in-chief Jason Tate shared a song of their on his blog. After digging into their discography a bit, we fell in love with what we think is pop punk’s next big thing. Imagine taking a dash of Fall Out Boy‘s 2003 release, Take This To Your Grave, and mixing it with Coheed and Cambria‘s In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 from the same year. Sprinkle some top-notch pop punk vocals over the mix and you’ve got FS. We aren’t sure what exactly these North Carolina Boys have in store for 2014, but we’ll be watching them closely to find out.
Port Isla (Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud)
With only a handful of tracks released thus far, Port Isla have already proven to be a folk-rock force to be reckoned with. Hailing from across the pond in Norwich, this fledgling four-piece boasts a big, anthemic sound in the vein of Fleet Foxes and Band Of Horses with instrumental and vocal prowess that will inevitably lead to their reign in the ranks of folk-rock this year. The fact that they’re currently unsigned would lead us to believe that they’re a yet to be discovered diamond in the rough or that they’re weighing options and taking the cautious route. Regardless of DIY or label stance, expect a lot Port Isla coverage on UTG this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csca0Wodm6U
Tiger Lily (Facebook | Twitter)
UTG has evolved in many ways since our launch in 2008, but there will always be room on this list for a promising pop-punk band with catchy hooks and a strong drive to succeed. In 2014, that band is Tiger Lily, and later this month the world will hear what they spent the last several months working on when their new EP (Won’t Let This Kill Me) arrives in stores. We were fortunate enough to stream the album already and will tell you up front it’s one of the most fun and exciting genre releases we have heard all season. As long as the band can stay focused in the months ahead and push their promotional efforts beyond their Oklahoma roots, we see no reason why Tiger Lily should not be on every pop-punk fan’s music device by the end of summer. If you like the song streaming below, please preorder the album now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiPBKCn14jY
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