Who? A Half Moon Bay, California native, Throw Me the Statue creative force Scott Reitherman relocated to Seattle and began self-releasing CDs of buzzy, lo-fi indie pop in 2004. Friends, including Pedro the Lion alum Casey Foubert eventually pitched in to help as Reitherman added instruments including drum machines and glockenspiels to round out his sound.

Who? Toronto-based musicians Alice Glass (of Fetus Fatale) and Ethan Kath (of Jakarta) came together in December 2003 and started recording the electronic freakouts that are Crystal Castles' stock in trade. A 2005 studio mic check that was accidentally recorded and named "Alice Practice" started gaining label attention when it was posted on the group's MySpace page.

Who? Once a member of DeYarmond Edison, singer/songwriter Justin Vernon parted ways with the folk outfit when its other members relocated from its home base of Eau Claire, Wisconsin to North Carolina in 2005.

Who? The abrasive noiseniks in Clipd Beaks bonded early on in the icy air and basements of Minneapolis -- bassist Scott Ecklein and drummer Ray Benjamin met at age seven, guitarist Greg Pritchard joined them as a teenager after kicking around area hardcore bands, but with singer Nic Barbein signing on in 2003, Clipd Beaks was born. A

Who? From the rolling hills of San Francisco emerges California's latest offering to the neo-folk canon, in the form of 26-year-old Emily Jane White and a ghostly charisma that sets her starkly apart from peers like Brightblack Morning Light. A former UC Santa Cruz student, a four-track demo recording of White's sparse,

Who? Formed in 2004, you can still get hints of that new-band smell off of the Stiletto Formal and its members; vocalist Kyle Howard, guitarist Jimi Lamp, cellist Sunny Davis, bassist Paul Neely and drummer Patrick McCarthy. Despite their relative youth, TSF