The kids are alright!

No really, they are. Admittedly, I came to this conclusion during an insomnia-induced perusal of NME's (I know, I know, far too old for that type of shenanigan) tracks of the year.

In the spirit of adventure, and doing one's bit for the faltering economy, I invested in a random 10 of the sample, biased towards the top end of the run down. And blow me if - apart from MGMT - they weren't all excellent. Especially Ladyhawke and Friendly Fires, who are my new favourite thing. All hail the latter: