Bands don’t just jump from playing in their garage to playing at SXSW overnight. Usually a “new band” has years of touring and recording under their belts before they grab the attention of non-Pitchfork readers.  All 5 of these acts have been grinding for years, but it was in 2012 that their recordings and live performances starting making serious noise in the industry.

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Best New Bands

Alabama Shakes

album: Boys & Girls

The meteoric rise of the Athens, Alabama natives saw them go from releasing their first four-song indpendent EP to performing on the Late Show with David Letterman in only eight months.

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Chiddy Bang

album: Breakfast

Chiddy & Xaphoon Jones have been making waves on the underground since 2009, but the song “Ray Charles” off their debut studio album hit like a tsunami on the UK charts in 2012.

*NSFW*

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Cloud Nothings

album: Attack On Memory

Nothing about Dylan Baldi’s vision for his indie band’s future seems cloudy. SPIN, NPR, and The New York Times have all hailed the singer-songwriter’s musical style as a fresh take on the punk-pop genre of the 1990’s.

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Django Django

album: Django Django

The art-rock quartet from Scotland has released only one recording in it’s 3 year history. The result? Their self-titled debut of psychedelic/worldbeat fusion music received universal acclaim.

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Oberhofer

album: Time Capsules II

Brad Oberhofer’s self-released singles, “o0Oo0O0o” & “Away Frm U”, caught the ears of several record labels. The noise pop crooner’s sudden success eventually led to his band’s career-making 2012 album produced by Steve Lillywhite of U2 and Dave Matthews fame.

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Previous: Best Music of 2012 (So Far) Part 1 & Part 2

Next: Best Music 2012 (So Far) Part 4

Agree? Disagree? Share your favorite new bands of the first half of 2012 in the comment section.