If you’re out to find out who the next hot bands are -and let’s face it, you are- you’ve come to the right place. Last year we listed The Ting Tings, Duffy, and Dead Confederate among the top acts to watch out for in 2008, this year we’ve got an entirely new crop of future superstars. Check it out below, along with our Top Ten Breakout Bands of ‘08, and please leave your own suggestions for bands to watch out for in ‘09 in the comments.

EAR FARM’s Top Ten Breakout Bands of 2008

Bon Iver - listen: “Skinny Love”
In my world, 2008 has seen Bon Iver go from being a guy who some friends in Raleigh suggested I check out to selling out Town Hall. Perhaps in yours he’s gone from unknown to that song from Grey’s Anatomy, House, Chuck, or whatever. No matter your perspective, 2008 was one heck of a year for Justin Vernon. - Matt

Born Ruffians - listen: “Knife” (Grizzly Bear cover)
Melody, ho! Energy, ha! Quirky lyrics, la dee da! Dum dee day… Born Ruffians are the musical equivalent of a happy exclamation point you can sing along to. One of my favorites this year for sure, this band should appeal to fans of Vampire Weekend out for the more Stop Making Sense side of Talking Heads influence. - Matt

Fleet Foxes - listen: “White Winter Hymnal”
Mix one-part My Morning Jacket earthy howl with one-part Band of Horses down-home charm, drop a somber twist of Beach Boys vocal harmonies and serve warm on a rustic fall/winter afternoon. No, not the most groundbreaking concoction, but I mean damn, does it not taste pretty perfect? - Mike

Lykke Li - listen: “Dance, Dance, Dance”
Sounding like a twinkle in the eye of a little girl asking for a pony for Christmas, Lykke Li’s magnetic charm bleeds through in each and every breathy lyric on her outstanding debut. It’s no wonder she took the indie-pop world by storm in ‘08. Here’s hoping she never loses the knack for writing precisely the kind of music the world needs more of. - Matt

MGMT - watch: “Electric Feel” official video
There’s just no way to exclude them from a list celebrating the “breakout” artists of 2008. From hardly-known Wesleyan grads to SPIN cover boys and bona fide worldwide sensations within the calendar year, MGMT gets the 2008 nod for “Super Breakout” (see pic above for what that award would look like). - Mike

Plants & Animals - listen: “Feedback In The Field”
Back when we first profiled this Montreal trio, the sweeping grandeur of Parc Avenue was just washing over us. Since then, we’ve come back for seconds and thirds but still can’t figure out how three people can make such colossal, epic songs. In short, my 2008 is better for knowing such a band exists. - Mike

She & Him - watch: “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”
If Cream were the first supergroup, does that automatically set the bar at a three-member minimum for all subsequent would-be “supergroups”? Can an album that is 25% cover songs really be considered the best record of the year? Some questions don’t have easy answers, but at least She & Him’s debut album Volume One is a beautifully uncomplicated affair. - Mike

Takka Takka - listen: “The Takers”
From Nick and Nora’s to infinity and beyond!!! Hey, wanna know a secret? EAR FARM loves Takka Takka’s 2008 release so much that we’re going to be releasing their album Migration ourselves on vinyl. Pitchfork gave the record a 7.2 but I’d say it’s at least a 354.6.- Matt

White Denim - listen: “Sitting”
Watching White Denim live is like riding the Cyclone: it’s loud, reckless, and convinces you that everything is about to careen off the rails at any moment. And that’s what these guys do so well…sell the illusion of losing control while keeping everything juuust barely in the pocket. Addictive. Just like riding roller coasters. - Mike

White Hinterland - listen: “Dreaming of the Plum Trees”
While her first album saw Casey Dienel announce herself as a songwriter to be taken very seriously; 2008’s Phylactery Factory was her official coming out as an artist. The album eats away at you like a great novel might: listen once and you’ll be intrigued, but you’ll perhaps miss a lot of the nuance; listen again and again and the record will climb inside your mind and stay there, perhaps forever… - Matt
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EAR FARM’s Top Ten Bands to Watch in 2009

Black Swan Green - listen: “Waxwing”
If you’re into dark, brooding, listless, emotive rock…say, perhaps, you’re searching for a modern Galaxie 500…look no further than Brooklyn’s Black Swan Green. Unlike many aural texture bands, their music isn’t an imitation of what’s come before; rather, it hints at where dream pop might be headed in the future. The future is now. Er, the future WILL be now. In 2009: Black Swan Green.- Matt

Drink Up Buttercup - listen: “Young Ladies”
One of our very first Bands of the Week, DuB has us beaming like proud papas now that the rest of NYC (including the NY Times and beyond) has rightfully taken notice with the same kind of “holy shit these guys are GOOD!” response we first had. With their debut full-length just around the corner, calling this one is a layup: DuB is set for a breakout 2009. - Mike

The Laughing - listen: “The Canopy”
Austin’s The Laughing captures the smiling mope of The Cure and mixes it with heavy doses of primal thunder and late-career Talking Heads jungle love. It’s equally sexy and weird, catchy and danceable. If David Cronenberg’s The Fly were a band, it’d be The Laughing. Decide for yourself if that sounds like something you’d like. Me? I decided long ago.- Matt

Local Natives - listen: “Airplanes”
More David Byrne influence! Local Natives have a manic delivery that recalls the coolly calm yet frenetic jams of recent bands such as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Annuals, but wait! Unlike the previously mentioned bands, Local Natives aren’t “all popular” yet (which means you can still score ‘cooler than you’ points) AND they’re driven by Gatling gun percussion that propels their melodies forward with magnetic force not found on every street corner in Indierocksville. Look for them on tour this January.- Matt

Marching Band - listen: “Gorgeous Behavior”
If the potential for truly “breaking out” can be measured by the opportunities for broader exposure (which, uh, it is) Marching Band is due for a rather large year (as we first predicted a few months ago). Songs featured on Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist and How I Met Your Mother? Check. Spaceland residency? Check. Love from Rolling Stone? Check. The Swedish Invasion cometh (again?). - Mike

Motel Motel - listen: “Coffee”
Watch as I rip off what Mike previously wrote about this band and then take credit for it… Motel Motel has remarkably dynamic range; at times lilting along by the strings of a lone pedal-steel guitar, at others pummeled by a three-guitar assault, their songs manage to convey nearly the entire spectrum of human emotion before singer/guitarist Eric Engel steps to the mic. When Engel’s warbled howls emerge and come to life, Motel Motel hyperdrives into an entirely different dimension: a glorious countrified throttling of art-rock, a really good Cold War Kids played out at about a hundred different angles. Believe it. - Matt

Sister Suvi - listen: “Lightning Train”
You just might accuse us of some sort of Mark Cuban/Martha Stewart insider trading when our favorite band from Montoronto releases their full-length Now I Am Champion in 2009….Q: How did we know this record would be so amazing? A: We got our mitts on it early, so calling this one was a given. Q: Sure, but can a ukelele, guitar, and drums rock this much live? A: Uh, they pretty much blew the roof off our CMJ Day Party this year, so yes. Now they are champion. - Mike

Suckers - listen: “It Gets Your Body Movin’”
It’s as if the whole world’s up and gone crazy for the early ’80s David Bowie/Men at Work/Peter Gabriel sound, right? Well duh. I’ve been crazy for that shit since, like, forever kid. That plus a little bit of Yeasayer-y/Animal Collective weird-the-fuck-out head groove and I’m hooked. Hook, line, and sucker. Sinker. No, Suckers. Yes! - Matt

Violens - listen: “Violent Sensation Descends”
Bracingly loud, dense, but familiarly tuneful, Violens sits ever-perched on the cusp of something big enough to finally match their sound. With recent opening slots for Grizzly Bear and Deerhunter, they’re well on their way. - Mike

Women - listen: “Group Transport Hall”
When we last spoke with frontman Patrick Flegel, he seemed amused and perhaps slightly perplexed by all of the advance accolades coming Women’s way. Now, about one thousand CMJ shows, a new round of universally glowing reviews, and a full-fledged European tour later, he better be getting used to it all because their lo-fi march of domination won’t be letting up anytime soon. - Mike
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So there you have it. Ten bands whose 2008 was all chocolate boxes and roses and ten we like to take that great leap forward in 2009. Stay tuned as we unveil EAR FARM’s Top Albums, Songs, and Concerts of 2008 in the coming weeks. List season!

*above Super Breakout image from HERE.