The Haunted Youth (BE) + Barbora Hora (CZ)

The Haunted Youth is the band of Hasselt-based Joachim Liebens (28), playing mesmerizing psych pop reminiscent of MGMT, DIIV, Slowdive or The Cure. The songs – about despair, hope, and the feeling of being a misunderstood misfit – are coated in a rich and dreamy international sound. Debut single ‘Teen Rebel’ certainly hit the mark: the band won Studio Brussel’s talent contest De Nieuwe Lichting, and consequently getting a lot of international airplay. Follow-up singles got picked by the likes of KEXP, Consequence of Sound, KCRW and NME, all leading up to their highly anticipated debut album in November.