Though they’ve been active on the all-ages scene for the better part of the past two years, Animal Suit Driveby burst to prominence this year in a transcendent explosion that befits a Best New Act winner. Releasing the tight and meaty emo EP 110 Miles, Animal Suit’s "Sugar Pills" quickly was all over local rock radio and their shows at the Station started drawing a few hundred fans at a clip.

But Animal Suit are already reaching beyond the Portland scene. With their use of sites like www.purevolume.com and www.myspace.com, ASD are collecting a national, and international, audience that ought to make them very attractive indeed to a label looking for a band that has talent, vision, and is willing to put in plenty of work. Currently the band are at school in Boston, studying their craft, and the connections one can make at Berklee are easy to figure (of course, they may reinvent themselves as a progressive jazz band, but that’s the chance you take down there).

Frontman Ryan Hannan treated the Best Music Poll Awards crowd to a solo version of "Subject A," and it was damn impressive to see the lead vocalist of a band that normally rocks some heavy guitar with a horn contingent strip the tune down to its vital elements and still grab a gabbing crowd’s attention.

They may have started small, collecting fans in their hometown of Hamden, but you can expect big things from Animal Suit Driveby.

Runners up: Stars Look Down, Sidecar Radio