Little Boots

Named for her unusually small feet, England's Little Boots (aka Victoria Christina Hesketh) nevertheless possesses a powerful set of pipes, the better to hold her own as a cool diva amidst throbbing electro-pop arrangements. Like Robyn, La Roux, Ladyhawke, and Florence & the Machine, Little Boots' music is decidedly rooted in the '80s and '90s, with chilly synths and skeletal drum machines that recall both new wave and trance. In the mid-'00s she sang in Dead Disco, a Leeds-based electro/indie band; after it disbanded, she began recording solo demos and posting them on YouTube and MySpace. She recorded her debut album, 2009's Hands, in Los Angeles with Dead Disco producer Greg Kurstin and Hot Chip's Joe Goddard. As of 2010, she reported that she was putting "the finishing touches" on a follow-up album.