DUSTED - Total Dust

DUSTED - aka Brian Borcherdt - boast an understated sound with shades of The Shins and Bon Iver.

(Into The) Atmosphere is a really beautiful pop song capable of bringing goosebumps to even the hardest of listeners, while the simple acoustic picking and melody of Low Humming are joys to behold.

This album serves as proof, if proof were needed, that there is so much great music out there if you are willing to look for it.

CRADLE OF FILTH - The Manticore & Other Horrors

WITH impossibly fast drums, melodramatic guitars and unfathomable vocals, Cradle Of Filth’s brand of extreme metal is almost unbearable.

It starts well enough, with the haunting opening track The Unveiling of O, which is pitched somewhere between soundtracks to a Batman movie and Count Duckula.

But almost as soon as track two The Abhorrent began, so did my headache, which only went away when I stopped listening.

LEWIS WATSON - Another Four Sad Songs

WITH his floppy fringe, 20-year-old Lewis Watson looks like the lost member of One Direction.

Seemingly there's more to him than that though, and this EP showcases his Ed Sheeran-style musings which have seen him gain support from BBC Radio 1 and more than five million views on YouTube.

Acoustic guitars, expressive vocals and smooth production help Watson suggest he is the man to bridge the gap between 1D and Sheeran, so there’s every chance this Oxfordshire singer-songwriter will see his star rise in 2013.