Reykjavik, Iceland

Although initially the solo project of Sindri Már Sigfússon, Seabear had morphed into a seven-piece band by 2007, when the group made its full-length debut with Ghost That Carried Us Away. Sigfússon filled his lineup with a number of fellow Icelandic songwriters -- Gudbjörg Hlin Gudmundsdottir, Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir, Halldór Ragnarsson, Örn Ingi Ágústsson, Kjartan Bragi Bjarnason, and Sóley Stefánsdóttir -- and the groups hushed, folksy music began finding an international audience in 2008, when the song Cat Piano was featured in an episode of Gossip Girl. Although Sigfússon also devoted time to his own solo work (which he released under the alias Sin Fang Bous), Seabear continued gathering momentum during the following years, and 2010 found the group launching its first American tour and releasing its second album, We Built a Fire. ~ Andrew Leahey