The must-see in the Park

Everyone and their granny has heard of the headliners at T in the Park, but who the hell are all those other acts cluttering up the bill? Pop critic David Pollock selects his 20 new bands worth seeking out

Chrome Hoof

Relentless Energy Drink Stage, Saturday

THE least categorisable band ever to play T? Like the Polyphonic Spree on hallucinogens, London ten-piece Chrome Hoof – who were formed by brothers Leo and Milo Smee, and feature Spektrum singer Lola Olafisoye – create a sound that lurks somewhere between prog, glam, metal and disco. An absolute must-see.

Black Kids

Futures Stage, Sunday

THEIR debut album, Partie Traumatic, was released just days ago, but already this young band from Jacksonville, Florida, have credibly added to the consensual sound of 2008's summer. The singles I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You and Hurricane Jane have been all over the mainstream media.

MGMT

Pet Sounds Arena, Saturday

BROOKLYN duo Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden have been building a name all year for their wonderful cross-genre sound. The album Oracular Spectacular blends MOR, electro-pop, psychedelia and dance music, and ends up sounding more-or-less like summer.

Gabriella Cilmi

Futures Stage, Saturday

IF rain is forecast while Amy Winehouse drags herself across the stage on Sunday, why not see her closest imitator – the altogether more fresh-faced Ms Cilmi – strut her stuff here? And might it help if we mention Sweet About Me, already one of the most comprehensively-played tracks of the summer, at this point?

The Ting Tings

King Tut's Wah Wah Tent, Sunday

ALTHOUGH it seems nigh-on pointless to try and flag up a band who recently enjoyed some time at No 1 in the charts, it's worth pointing out that That's Not My Name isn't Katie White and Jules De Martino's only song. The pair are fine songwriters and exciting performers.

The Presets

Relentless Energy Drink Stage, Sunday

PART of the set who have formed around Sydney label Modular, Aussie duo Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes have lived in the shadow of labelmates such as the Avalanches and Cut Copy. They've waited their deserved turn, in other words – while the recordings ape early 80s electro, the live show bears all the energy of prime acid house.

Holy F**k

Relentless Energy Drink Stage, Sunday

IT'S all the rage and more to inject some profanity into your band's name in '08 (also see F**ked Up, who are playing here, and F**k Buttons, who aren't). Yet the real shock value of Toronto quintet Holy F**k is to be found in their excellent music, a dense and textured combination of electro samples, driving space-rock rhythms and rare, only vaguely discernible lyrics.

Pendulum

King Tut's Wah Wah Tent, Sunday

ALTHOUGH the Australian-formed, UK-based outfit do tend to sound like a particularly frantic video game soundtrack, their perfectly-placed blend of rock and electronica is quickly gaining in popularity. Already, they've been dubbed "the drum'n'bass Prodigy".

Robots In Disguise

Relentless Energy Drink Stage, Sunday

ABSOLUTELY only famous because of their relationship connections (the, err, obviously pseudonymous Dee Plume is with the Mighty Boosh's Noel Fielding), it can't be denied there's something zeitgeist-snatching about this all-girl Scouse duo. They look good, their hair looks even better, and they have a song called The Sex Has Made Me Stupid. What's not to like?

Come On Gang!

T Break Stage, Sunday

IS anything more impressive than a band with a singer-drummer? Yep – a band with a singing girl drummer. The main focus of this Pixies-like, Edinburgh College of Art-formed trio is Sarah Tanat Jones and her joyful vocal style.

Isosceles

T Break Stage, Saturday

Glasgow newcomers Isosceles marry a retro guitar sound which suggests Postcard Records on amphetamine to a lyrical conceit that concerns itself with "Kitsch Bitches" and the like. Jack Valentine's lyrics: arch. The music: perky. The ideal setting: Byres Road on a hungover Saturday afternoon.

Zoey Van Goey

T Break Stage, Sunday

EMBARKING here on a summer which involves pretty much every major Scottish festival, Glasgow's ZVG are a lot harder than their gentle, folky exterior suggests, certainly if their work schedule's anything to go by. A trio who boast the gorgeous, folksy voice of Kim Moore, the band evoke gender-reversed comparison to Cat Stevens or James Taylor.

Sergeant

Futures Stage, Sunday

ALREADY blessed by the approval of kingmaker Alan McGee, janglesome indie-poppers Sergeant recall the La's (or, less charitably, Cast) with their pastoral, upbeat sound. Expect the recent Mercury signees to go down well here – they're from Glenrothes, which makes them even more local than KT Tunstall.

Ida Maria

Futures Stage, Sunday

THE popular image of singer-songwriter Ida Maria accounts for the fact she's Norwegian, yet also tries to spin her kookiness. True, she's a bit gauche – one of her songs is called I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked – but we'll find out whether that's really enough to raise her from the rest on the live stage.

Yeasayer

Futures Stage, Sunday

NEW Yorkers and contemporaries of MGMT, the quartet call themselves "Enya with bounce". A sublime pop band with a particular bent towards the instrumentation of folk and world music would be another way of putting it.

White Lies

Futures Stage, Saturday

ALREADY veterans of the NME Awards Tour, and with a tag of "new Echo and the Bunnymen" to justify, the London trio nevertheless keep their head above the hype. One to keep an eye on – they could go either way.

Thecocknbullkid

Relentless Energy Drink Stage, Sunday

"I LIKED you better when you were dead", runs the rather harsh chorus of one smooth ambient pop track by Hackney girl Anita Blay, and this juxtaposition sums up the wide-ranging appeal of an artist who has been described as the lovechild of Morrissey and Neneh Cherry.

Alphabeat

King Tut's Wah Wah Tent, Friday

LOVED and hated in equal measure, Alphabeat are the bright, smiling, Danish face of the new pop sound. They might recall kids' TV presenters a bit too much, but in Fascination, at least, they have a hit laden with goofy charm.

Michael Meyer

Slam Tent, Sunday

NOT exactly a new DJ, but certainly one of the least heralded in the Slam Tent. Crossing genre divides between techno, ambient techno and microhouse; his Supermeyer project with Superpitcher even encompasses electronic folk.

Numbers

Bacardi B Live Arena, Sunday

SOME of Scotland's best clubs will be hiding out in the Bacardi tent over the weekend, but the Sub Club's Numbers – encompassing a host of different DJs, labels and affiliated artists – is the one everyone should know more about.