Northwest

BRANDI CARLILE
Like the name of her 2007 release The Story might imply, singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile appreciates a good narrative. Her own story begins in Seattle, performing with the Hanseroths, twin brothers who have traveled with her as her backing band all along her career path. Having appeared on Rolling Stone's list of "10 Artists to Watch in 2005," Carlile continues to prove she is a formidable and natural talent, with contemplative songs and harsh, unabashed vocals permeating both her 2005 debut album, Brandi Carlile, and the T Bone Burnett-produced The Story (both on Columbia). —ET

MODEST MOUSE
In the fifteen years since lead singer and songwriter Isaac Brock first brought friends Eric Judy and Jeremiah Green into the practice space adjacent to his mother's Issaquah, Washington trailer, Modest Mouse has been creating some of the most distinctive and weirdly beautiful rock music around. The band recorded four LPs, two on Up Records, two on K Records, before the fourth, The Lonesome Crowded West, set off a major-label bidding war that ended in a deal for the band with Sony. Their next three full-length releases found Modest Mouse commercial success without changing their signature, weirdly manic sound. 2001's The Moon and Antarctica drew widespread critical acclaim, 2004's Good News for People Who Love Bad News yielded the groups first Top 40 hit, "Float On," and last year's We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank cemented Modest Mouse's immense fan base and added former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr to their ranks. The band's success has been hard-won but more than well deserved. The group has come to represent fresh ingenuity and authenticity in pop music. —LW

GOSSIP
Within its class of envelope-pushing indie bands, Gossip (also known as GOXXIP or GSSP) stand out. Native to Arkansas, Beth Ditto, Kathy Mendonca and Nathan Howdeschell relocated to the West Coast in 1999 and found a home in Olympia, Washington's punk rock, riot grrrl and queercore scenes. They have released three LPs, 2001's That's Not What I Heard, 2003's Movement, and 2006's Standing in the Way of Control (all Kill Rock Stars), and have also released a number of EPs and live albums which capture the group's funny, brash, rude and relentless power. —ET

MENOMENA
Portland, Oregon-based indie act Menomena originated as a side project for its three multi-instrumentalist members, but gained popularity when their first, self-produced album, 2003's I Am the Fun Blame Monster! (which came with an 80-page flipbook), made its way into the office of Pitchfork, who gave it an 8.7 rating, and exposed them to a whole new audience. Menomena have since released two more albums, 2005's experimental Under an Hour and 2007's Friend and Foe (Barsuk), which was nominated for a 2007 Grammy for Best Recording Package. —ET

SERA CAHOONE
A drummer since childhood, Sera Cahoone didn't take long building up street cred; at the age of 12 she played drums behind a bunch of bluesmen at an open mic night. Several years later, she fell in with some other great musicians as the drummer for Band of Horses. Having played on their Sub Pop album, Everything All the Time, Cahoone turned to singing, songwriting and guitar playing. Sub Pop liked the results. Fans of quiet, countrynoirish pop will too when they discover Cahoone's new Sub Pop release Only As the Day is Long. —EP

BLITZEN TRAPPER
A teeming musical clan based in Portland, Oregon, Blitzen Trapper proffers lo-fi recordings that double as rough-hewn campfire singalongs. The band's six members have been playing and recording for years, often putting their music directly on the web. They have, however, self-released three albums since 2003, including their latest, Wild Mountain Nation. Combining country grooves, psychedelic riffs and art-rock experimentation, the band is hard to peg musically. But the band's unabashed bliss and rambunctious spirit are undeniably infectious and one of the reasons Sub Pop signed them at the end of 2007. —EP