Lukestar

The intricately arranged, hook-driven post pop of Norway's Lukestar certainly demonstrates careful attention to progressive rock, '80s radio hits and the unrestrained creative volume of the alternative groundswell. But most of that analysis goes out the window at the moment when Truls Heggero's ethereal falsetto comes floating through the speakers. The quartet -- Heggero, Yngve Hilmo, Marius Ergo, and Jorgen Smadal Larsen -- began playing together as teens, earning airplay on Norwegian national radio with two singles off their 2007 debut, Lake Toba. In the months following the release, the band's popularity spread beyond its homeland with international tours and foreign releases of its debut, which was lauded by British and American tastemakers like NME and Pitchfork.