Hurts: 'Wonderful Life (Arthur Baker Remix)'

At the start of the century, it was law within the chattering classes to deride almost everything pop-related. Cheesier elements (S Club 7, Steps) did little to stop the sneers, but by the eve of the teenies - and with the help of the electropop resurgence - the genre is arguably the new Cool Britannia. Cue the arrival of Manchester duo Hurts, who told DS recently that they have "pop in our bones" and are ready to carry that flag into 2010 with all synths gurgling.

Their self-proclaimed raison d'etre is a "meticulous attention to detail" and this debut single validates it in no uncertain terms. The tale of a suicidal man saved by love at first sight on the Severn Bridge, 'Wonderful Life' has all the lyrical punch of Eminem's 'Stan', a raw melodrama that recalls Gary Jules's 'Mad World' but tramples all over it, and pulsating noirish synths that send ripples up the spine. If this is a sign of what to expect from Hurts, they deserve to become the first breakthrough act of the new decade.


> Click here to read our Hurts interview