My Luminaries picked for Glastonbury Emerging slot

London band My Luminaries have been announced as winners of the Early Bird section of the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition for 2010, organised by Q Magazine.  This is where unsigned bands battle to secure a precious slot at Glasto; newly in 2010, one band, in this case My Luminaries, get an advance invite on the basis of how impressive they are.

So who are My Luminaries?  A London five-piece peddling earnest rock, that’s who.  They can do fast-paced rousers (eg The Sound of Music) but its the slower numbers that sound more elegant to me.  Don’t Hold Me Back, for instance, comes with a nice burnished sound thanks to soft keys and hushed vocals around the occasionally gnarling guitar hooks; Heads Will Roll uses a harmonica and sleepy bass to tell a tale of death on the underground. 

A cynic might say this is inoffensive soft rock - with some Keane-like grandeur here and Cribs-esque racket there – destined for the Pyramid Stage in a few years’ time.  And they might be right.   But doesn’t that make My Luminaries a good band? 


If you fancy hearing more, My Luminaries’ debut, Order From The Chaos, is out now and available via the link below.  Concert-wise, they’re playing the Monto Water Rats on Friday 5 February (details here).

MySpace | Buy | MP3: My Luminaries – Heads Will Roll (very kindly provided by the band)

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