The new year in music is upon us. There are plenty of big name artists with releases due out in the coming year. Just off the top of my head, I know we can expect some new tuneage from Bloc Party, The Shins, Spoon, Wilco, Bright Eyes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Stooges, Dinosaur Jr, The Arcade Fire, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Ted Leo and The Pharmacists. While theses names will certainly give you plenty to look forward to in 2007, there are plenty of artists outside of the indie rock elite that will surely surprise and delight in the coming year. Additionally, there’s some old rockers like Nick Cave and Damon Albarn, up to some exciting new tricks. I’ve already dropped a few new bands in these pages, including The Early Years, VietNam, David Vandervelde, Times New Viking, and The Good, The Bad, and The Queen, and during the next couple weeks, I Rock Cleveland will be filled with more artists who have the potential to make some real sweet noise in 2007.