 | | Dave Potts |
There’s plenty to get excited about. Both Doves and Stephen Fretwell have albums coming out, the former scheduled to see the light of day around festival time while the latter will hit your turntables in the spring. Oasis, riding high from their BRIT award for Outstanding Contribution To Music, are due to go back into the studio after Zak Starkey’s finished touring with The Who, with an EP slated for release around October, though the album will be another 12 months away at least.
 | | Johnny Marr |
Old hands will also be getting in the act. The Fall release their 48,000th album (or something like that) in February. Called Reformation Post TLC, it follows their excellent Fall Heads Roll, and we can’t wait to hear it, even if only for the track Insult Song! Tom Hingley and The Lovers are putting the finishing touches to their second outing and David Potts will be building on his top The Greatest EP with the release of his solo debut, Coming Up For Air.
 | | Tsana |
And spare some time for Modest Mouse. They might not seem like the most obvious candidates to hit Manchester’s musical radar, hailing as they do from America’s mid-west, but their new album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, features their new permanent guitarist and co-songwriter, Johnny Marr! It’s not all about the guitars though. Last year saw a bundle of new talent break through on the urban side of music, led by the astonishing Billboard success of M-Tina. Look out for her in the coming months, alongside the ever impressive Tsana, who’s been bubbling under for a while and should be ready to explode this year. Oh, and cross your fingers that Metrodome + Jordan get out and about more, schoolwork allowing that is!
 | | Cherry Ghost (pic: Stefan Klenke) |
Leading the charge from last year’s big hopes is Cherry Ghost. With an appearance on Later… already behind him and a clutch of supremely wonderful songs in his back pocket, he’s got the potential and the talent to be turning heads and winning hearts all over the place come December, especially if his debut album lives up to his original demos. His gig in February with Polytechnic should be a belter.
 | | Karima Francis |
Up in the vanguard with him will be the zeitgeist surfing The Answering Machine, buoyed by the continuing buzz around them, the reinvigorated Snowfight In The City Centre, the perennially full-on excellence of Daywalkers and discovery of 2006, Karima Francis. There’ll also be the chance of seeing Fear Of Music come of age (well, come closer to being of age anyway…) with the first fruits of their big debut hitting the stores in the shape of the We Are Not The Enemy EP in February. First impressions are that they’ll be able to keep their snowball rolling on.
 | | Rachael Kichenside |
As for the up-and-comings, keep an eye out for The Cassettes - youthful exuberance combined with a voice from the depths of time, Cohesion – upstarts with a strong line in raucous tunes, Gillan Edgar – fresh face, fresh tunes and buckets of charm, Air Cav – grandiose indie soundscapes that will fill you with joy, and Rachael Kichenside – beautifully unique folk-jazz with a solid twist of pop. And just to round things off in a slightly odd manner, there’s the chance to see whether Shayne Ward is more Will Young than Rik Waller when he brings out his new album and hits the Arena. Flip a coin to decide as the answer is just as up in the air... | 
