This year has been one of the best years for emerging bands in recent memories. With hundreds of albums released and countless live shows, the choices were plentiful and there were many bands worthy of inclusion. However, with so many great choices, we could only pick six bands as finalists.

That being said, the 2012 nominees for Best New Band are: Alabama Shakes, Divine Fits, FIDLAR , The Lumineers, Polica and Tame Impala.

Five of the nominees are essentially American bands…the sixth is from Perth, Australia; each couldn’t be more differently musically and that diversity is what helped make 2012 so unique.

There’s the spirited southern rock meets rockabilly of Alabama Shakes and their brassy lead vocalist Brittany Howard; the energy of Divine Fits, comprised of alums from Spoon, Wolf Parade and New Bomb Turks; the LA punk spirit of Fidlar; the roots music of The Lumineers, who’ve enjoyed the biggest breakout success of these nominees thus far, with their single, “Ho Hey”; the indie rock sound of Minneapolis-based Polica, led by lead singer Channy Leaneagh; and the psychedelic rock of Aussie band Tame Impala.  What they all have in common: incessant touring.

You can vote by commenting on BestNewBands.com’s Newbie Awards Facebook posts or responding to BestNewBands.com’s Newbie Awards Tweets on Twitter.  BestNewBands.com will announce the 2012 winners during the week of December 17.

Here’s a video from each of the nominees:

Alabama Shakes

 

Divine Fits

 

Fidlar

 

The Lumineers

 

Polica

 

Tame Impala