An indie rock outfit based in Vancouver, Said the Whale was formed by Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft. Former members of such bands as My Buddy Dave, the Millionaires, and WordsOverMusic, the two soon expanded the group's membership to five, adding Jeff LaForge (bass), Spencer Schoening (drums), and Jaycelyn Brown (keyboards). After stabilizing the roster, the band quickly got to work on EP releases, two specifically which would see release as free online downloads. Their first album, Taking Abalonia, was released in 2007. Canada got another look at the full-length a year later with bonus tracks added (under the new title Howe Sounds/Taking Abalonia). Islands Disappear arrived in 2009 and two years later, Said the Whale took home the Juno Award for New Group of the Year at the 2011 Juno Awards. After replacing Jeff LaForge with Nathan Shaw, the band released its third studio-album, Little Mountain in 2012.

Chris True, Rovi

With a name that fits a Nova Scotia-based band rather well, Wintersleep formed in 2001. Initially, they were part of the Nova Scotia label and artists' collective Dependent Music, which released their first two albums, 2003's Wintersleep and 2005's untitled full-length, as the band was just getting rolling. The band graduated to the big time -- that is to say the major labels -- in 2006, when Wintersleep signed with Labwork, a subsidiary of EMI Canada. Members Paul Murphy (vocals and guitar), Tim D'Eon (guitar and keyboards), Jud Haynes (bass), Jon Samuel (keyboards), and Loel Campbell (drums) were able to see their first two releases get a second look on their new label, complete with bonus tracks, but in 2007 Haynes left the group. A quick replacement was found in Mike Bigelow, and Wintersleep soon returned to store shelves with their 2007 album, Welcome to the Night Sky. In 2008 the band was nominated for a Juno Award, Canada's highest honor in the national music scene.

Chris True, Rovi

While growing up in Vancouver, songwriter Dan Mangan immersed himself in his parents' record collection, paying special attention to albums by Nick Drake and the Beatles. Folk and pop thus became two of his biggest influences, and Mangan combined both genres while writing his own songs as a teenager. At 20 years old, he made his solo debut by releasing an acoustic EP, with the full-length Postcards and Daydreaming following two years later. Postcards and Daydreaming was later released in America, leading Mangan to increase his touring commitments and widen his fan base. In 2009, he returned with a second album, Nice, Nice, Very Nice, which landed on the Polaris Music Prize shortlist. Mangan followed up two years later with Oh, Fortune, showing the troubadour's matured songwriting and arrangements, produced by Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, Cave Singers).

Andrew Leahey, Rovi

Joel Plaskett is a Canadian singer, songwriter and musician whose music fuses the energetic melodies and hooks of power pop with the muscular strength of hard rock; as he once quipped, his music "combines the best of Big Star and Led Zeppelin." Born in Nova Scotia on April 18, 1975, Plaskett was raised in Halifax and he began making music in his early teens. In 1992, Plaskett formed the indie rock band Thrush Hermit with guitarist Rob Benvie, bassist Ian McGettigan and drummer Michael Catano. Plaskett was the group's lead singer, guitarist and primary songwriter, and they released two full-length albums and three EPs before parting ways in 1999. That same year, Plaskett launched his solo career with the album In Need of Medical Attention, and on his second album, 2001's Down at the Khyber, he introduced his new band, the Joel Plaskett Emergency -- Plaskett on vocals and guitar, bassist Tim Brennan and drummer Dave Marsh.

Down at the Khyber earned Plaskett a Juno Award nomination as Best New Artist, and 2003's Truthfully, Truthfully finally provided Plaskett with a commercial breakthrough in Canada. Plaskett traveled to Arizona to record his next album, 2005's La De Da, which was a solo effort with Plaskett handling most of the instruments himself (though his former Thrush Hermit bandmate Ian McGettigan played bass on the sessions and Jon Rauhouse sat in on pedal steel). Plaskett reconvened with the Emergency for 2007's concept album Ashtray Rock, before striking out on his own again for 2009's ambitious solo set Three. A three-CD set, Three earned Plaskett a Polaris Music Prize nomination and a Juno Award for Best Adult Alternative Album. Plaskett has also served as producer for artists such as Little Miss Moffet and Two Hours Traffic, appeared on the CBC series "Rock Camp", and made his acting debut with a small part in the film "One Week".

Mark Deming, Rovi

Named after a line from Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, Two Hours Traffic are a Canadian indie rock band that blends influences like Big Star, Nick Lowe, and the Cars. Based out of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, the band formed in 2003 when longtime friends Liam Corcoran and Alec O'Hanley joined with fellow University of PEI students Andrew MacDonald and Derek Ellis. That same year, they released The April Storm, a six-track EP that brought the band to the attention of Nova Scotia's leading indie rocker, Joel Plaskett. Plaskett would produce the band's self-titled debut album, which was released in 2005. He was back behind the boards for the 2006 EP Isolator, plus the 2007 album, Little Jabs. In 2008, Little Jabs landed on the short list for Canada's prestigious Polaris Music Prize.

David Jeffries, Rovi

Yukon Blonde is the new name adopted by the Kelowna, Canada, band formerly known as Alphababy, which had served as both the opening act and backup band for Jon-Rae Fletcher and toured extensively in its native country. Group members are Jeff Innes (guitar, vocals), Brandon Scott (guitar, vocals), Graham Jones (drums, vocals), and Adam Newton (bass). Relocating to Vancouver, they became Yukon Blonde and woodshedded from 2008 to 2009, signing to the Toronto label Nevado Records and issuing a four-song EP, Everything in Everyway, on October 6, 2009. A self-titled full-length debut album followed on February 9, 2010, issued in the U.S. by Bumstead Productions. After the recording of the album, Newton left the band to pursue a career as a tattoo artist. Yukon Blonde continued as a trio, hiring a bass player to fill in on tour.

William Ruhlmann, Rovi

It is no wonder that Canada's Cuff the Duke opened for Blue Rodeo on a key tour, or that Blue Rodeo's Greg Keelor is producing their fourth album. Like Keelor and his own bandmates, Cuff the Duke are one of those unbelievably talented bands that can jump genres like a game of hopscotch -- to the point where their music is almost undefinable except for the good ol' catchall, "alternative." Also like Blue Rodeo, they have a definite Canadian roots rock basis and a taste for the epic in their song structures.

Cuff the Duke broke onto the scene in 2002 with their debut, Life Stories for Minimum Wage, released on Toronto indie Three Gut Records. Critics praised the album, especially noting its maturity, which was ironic, as no one in the band (all originally from Oshawa, Ontario) was over 21 years of age. The group made their major-label debut in 2005 with the self-titled, Cuff the Duke. The album was the first release on fellow Canadian, Hayden's Hardwood/Universal imprint that didn't feature Hayden, himself. Cuff the Duke built up a tremendous cult following, especially on the college circuit, with this dark epic of an album. Critics hailed the intensity and timelessness of the songs, rightly identifying Cuff the Duke as a band working way beyond their years. Their live shows became a popular favorite and the Toronto Star raved that they "stole" the acclaimed Hillside Music Festival.

Early in 2006, Halifax's Dale Murray joined Cuff the Duke to play electric and pedal steel guitar (replacing original guitarist/Moog player/organist Jeff Peers) -- followed shortly thereafter by then Montreal-based drummer Corey Wood (taking the place of Matt Faris). With founding members Wayne Petti (lead vocals, guitar and moog) and Paul Lowman (bass, piano, fiddle, vocals), the band embarked on additional and extensive North American touring. Somewhere amidst all of that and several van breakdowns, Cuff the Duke managed to be part of an exciting, primarily instrumental band called the Hylozoists, led by producer/musician Paul Aucoin (co-producer of the early Cuff the Duke albums), whose La Fin Du Monde came out in the spring of 2006 on Boompa/EMI. 2007 saw the re-release of Cuff the Duke's 2002 debut, Life Stories for Minimum Wage, and frontman Wayne Petti's solo debut, City Lights Align, while the band entered the studio to begin recording their new album for Hardwood at the end of February. Released in October, Sidelines of the City was even more epic and ambitious than either of their previous releases. Alternating sounding like they are playing in front of stadiums to gigging at intimate club shows, the songs on Sidelines of the City are as shocking for their sprawling scope as they are for the number of genres they skip lithely across. Way Down Here arrived in 2009, followed by 2011's Morning Comes, the latter of which landed a Juno nomination. An EP of covers songs, In Our Time, appeared in early 2012, followed later that fall by the full-length Union.

Tomas Mureika, Rovi

Canadian singer/songwriter Sam Roberts released his first true debut in 2002, following a popular demo he had made in Montreal. Before that, he had been a violin player who eventually moved on to guitar and started a rock band with his friends. After getting a bit of coverage on MuchMusic, they decided to try their luck in Los Angeles. The band didn't get any positive reactions from record labels and disbanded in 1998, but that didn't stop Roberts from going back to Canada and beginning to write again. He put together the aforementioned demo before sitting down to record his debut, The Inhuman Condition, which was released in 2002 and became the best-selling independent release in Canadian history. In 2003 he signed with Universal and released his second album, We Were Born in a Flame, in June. The album was a huge hit in Canada and Roberts ended up winning the Juno Award for Album of the Year, Rock Album of the Year, and Artist of the Year. He continued to release well-regarded albums for the remainder of the decade: Chemical City in April 2006 and Love at the End of the World in May of 2008. Each album also won the Juno for Rock Album of the Year. For his 2011 release, Collider, which featured Dave Nugent on lead guitar, Eric Fares on keyboard and guitar, James Hall on bass, and Josh Trager on drums, Roberts changed from using just his name to the Sam Roberts Band.

Bradley Torreano, Rovi

Canadian roots rocker Matt Mays has become one of the nation's most popular new artists since hitting the road with his backing band, El Torpedo. Born on August 10, 1979, Mays first came to the attention of music fans as a member of the Nova Scotia-based alt-country band the Guthries, who formed in 1998. The Guthries released their first album in 2000, Off Windmill, but while the album was praised by critics and fared well with fans, Mays opted to strike out on his own. Mays released his first solo album in early 2003, simply called Matt Mays, and in order to tour in support of the release, he assembled a road band featuring Jarrett Murphy on guitar and vocals, Rob Crowell on keyboards and sax, Andy Patil on bass and vocals, and Tim Baker on drums, with Mays handling lead vocals and trading off guitar lines with Murphy. Extensive roadwork in Canada helped the band win a loyal fan base, and Mays gave his band co-star billing for his second album, Matt Mays + El Torpedo, released by Sonic Entertainment in the spring of 2005. The songs "Cocaine Cowgirl" and "On the Hood" became major hits in Canada, and the band was chosen to open a major Canadian tour by the Black Crowes. Mays began making noise in the United States after playing a showcase at the 2006 South by Southwest Music Conference and appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and in late 2006 Matt Mays + El Torpedo finally received a belated release in the United States through the independent 02:59 label. As Mays and El Torpedo began touring the United States to push the album in America, they were also playing larger shows at home in support of album number three, the ambitious When the Angels Make Contact. In early 2007, Mays relocated to New York City in order to better promote his career in America, and guitarist Jarrett Murphy amicably left El Torpedo; Jay Smith, from the Cape Breton band Rock Ranger, signed on as the band's new guitarist in April 2007.

Mark Deming, Rovi

Playing smart and amiable folk-rock with an alternative edge, biting wit, and a jazzy sense of sophistication, Mother Mother hails from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and true to their name they started out as a family affair. Guitarist and singer Ryan Guldemond had been writing songs and wanted to start playing them at local clubs. Feeling the tunes needed harmonies, he asked his sister Molly Guldemond to join him. Molly invited her friend Debra-Jean Creelman to add her voice to the mix, and the group's three-part harmonies were soon wowing audiences. In late 2005, Mother Mother recorded and released a self-titled and self-released CD, with bassist Jeremy Page and drummer Kenton Loewen coming aboard as the group's new rhythm section. The album sold poorly, but earned enthusiastic reviews, and helped the band score some high-profile gigs, including the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the Pop Montreal Festival, and spots opening for the Wailin' Jennys, the Dears, Think About Life, and the Cat Empire. Mother Mother's solid live shows and positive press earned the attention of the Canadian label Last Gang Records, who signed the band to a deal and made plans to re-release their debut album. Given a new mix, some additional overdubs and two new songs, the album was renamed Touch Up and fared much better commercially the second time around, as well as generating a new batch of enthusiastic reviews upon its release in early 2007.

Mark Deming, Rovi