The annual tournament of aspiring school-aged Aussie bands, triple j Unearthed High, is upon us once more, with the youth-focused arm of the national broadcaster naming Japanese Wallpaper, Hockey Dad, Azura, Daybreak, Baro, and Lupa J as the first of its finalists for this year's competition this morning.

The one-man wonder that is young Melburnian artist Japanese Wallpaper — known to his mum as Gab Strum — has gained swift recognition of late as one of the artists featured on the soundtrack for Zach Braff's upcoming flick Wish I Was Here, with his debut single Breathe In sitting comfortably on the track list alongside more established acts such as Coldplay and Bon Iver. Expect big things.

Even if they hadn't been named after a video game from The Simpsons, young Illawara-bred upstarts Hockey Dad have more than enough going on for themselves to encourage a turning of the heads. The deceptively mature pairing of Zach Stephenson and Billy Fleming craft considered surf-rock garage-pop that has seen their debut EP, Dreamin', garner swift praise from a diversity of commentators. The reasons why are perfectly evident in their work:

Queensland-bred chanteuse Azura, aka Lauren Coutts, may only just be peeking her head out onto the scene, but her thoughtful, sweet-without-being-sugary electro-pop is doing wonders for her profile, with tracks such as Smoke and Nineteen doing much to back her selection among the upper echelons of teen talent on offer in the country.

Impressive lyricism and a stack of personality welcomes Futuristic hip hopper Baro into the finals. He signed with with New World Artists agency in June, and is currently gearing up for a tour with Allday and Remi later this year where punters can experience the Melbourne hip hop artist's blissful, jazzy, neo-soul production first hand.

Under the name of Lupa J, Imogen Jones has already mastered the art of songwriting, recording and production in a home studio setting. Classical violin meets electronica as she layers different degrees of alt-pop on one another.