Rachael Yamagata

Singer/songwriter Rachael Yamagata grew up listening to Carole King, Roberta Flack, James Taylor, and the like, for music was the one thing in Yamagata's life that remained consistent. Although her parents divorced when she was two, she had a wonderful childhood and she credits her parents for doing such an amazing job. Finding a balance between her German-Italian mother's apartment in New York City and the Washington, D.C., home of her third-generation Japanese father was a task, but it readied Yamagata for a way of life that would eventually lead her to a professional singing career.

By the time she reached college in the mid-'90s, Yamagata had one year of piano lessons and a spiral notebook full of songs under her belt. Not sure of what she really wanted to do, Yamagata headed to Northwestern to study French. Within a year, she switched to being an Italian theater major at Vassar, but sporadic changes loomed ahead. When her acting coach at Vassar moved to Barnard College at Columbia University, Yamagata thought she'd go too. She eventually decided to head back to Northwestern instead, to join their theater program. During her junior year, she befriended the funk band Bumpus.

Bumpus was a mainstay on the club circuit in Chicago. From the start, Yamagata thought she'd like to be a part of the band. After seeing countless shows and attending band practices for several months, Yamagata finally landed a gig singing with Bumpus. She'd spend six years writing and recording three albums with the band and touring the country. By 2001, Yamagata felt like her time with Bumpus had run its course. She had a solid batch of songs that weren't fitting in with the band's funkafied formula, so she went solo. In September 2002, Yamagata landed a deal with Arista's Private Music and her self-titled EP arrived in October. Her first full-length album, Happenstance, followed in June 2004. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide

The Decemberists

Led by Colin Meloy
, the Decemberists are a five-piece outfit whose pop sound has been compared to the likes of Neutral Milk Hotel
and Belle & Sebastian
. Meloy, who hails from Missoula, MT, is the main songwriter for the group, whose initial lineup consisted of Ezra Holbrook
on drums, Nate Query on bass, Jenny Conlee on keyboards and accordion, and Chris Funk on theremin and pedal steel guitar. Frontman Meloy, who also held a degree in creative writing, previously devoted some time to an alternative country group before breaking off to pursue his craft as a singer/songwriter in the city of Portland, a period that eventually led to the Decemberists' formation. Before Hush Records released the Decemberists' first album in 2002, the group put out an EP of five tracks. Their full-length debut, Castaways and Cutouts, was re-released that same year on the Kill Rock Stars label, and the band began to accumulate a serious fan base. After adding organist and keyboardist Rachel Blumberg to the group, in 2003 the Decemberists released Her Majesty, another fine collection of theatrical indie pop with British folk sensibilities that further cemented their growing reputation as a band to watch. The next year the five-part epic EP The Tain, based on the eighth century Irish poem of the same name, came out, followed by their third full-length, Picaresque, in 2005. The group, who at this point consisted of Meloy, Conlee, Query, Funk, and drummer John Moen, made the move to the majors (Capitol Records) for 2006's The Crane Wife, which managed to hit number 35 on the Billboard 200, and even grabbed the attention of comedian/actor Stephen Colbert, who challenged Funk to a guitar solo competition during a live taping of his show, The Colbert Report. ~ Linda Seida, All Music Guide

The Chalets

With girlish harmonies, swanky guitar riffs, stylish synth beats, and a kitschy cool sense of fashion, Dublin indie rock outfit the Chalets came together in 2001. Paula Cullen (vocals/keyboards), Caoimhe Derwin (vocals, keyboards), Chris Judge (bass), Enda Loughman (guitar), and Dylan Roche (drums) deliver a spunky presentation that's similar to Letters to Cleo
, The Subways
, and The Pipettes
. The Two Chord Song 7" split with synth pop guru Neosupervital
marked the Chalets' proper debut in late 2003. Their flirty double-single Theme from Chalets/Sexy Mistake followed the next spring on Nasty Pop/Setanta; the title track from 2005's Nightrock EP was later featured worldwide outside of the U.S. in the trailer for the animated children's comedy Madagascar. Just as the band was gaining momentum on the U.K. indie scene with its 2005 full-length LP, Check In, Art Brut took the Chalets on a German tour in January 2006. Additional headlining shows in the U.K. also coincided with the Chalets' win for Best New Band at 2006's Meteor Music Ireland Awards. "Sexy Mistake" was later featured in two episodes of the ABC drama Grey's Anatomy. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide .