A bear that is not of the grizzly variety

Iceland may not be the first country you think of when asked "Where does cool music come from?" but the fact is, cool music does come from Iceland! Take, for example, Sigur Rós, Björk and Emilíana Torrini. Now, let's add indie/folk band Seabear to that list.

Seabear is the most quintessential, classic example of indie/folk I've heard in quite a while. As of late, most indie music has been shoe-gazey (even though I refuse to acknowledge that as an actual genre of music), and the folk stuff has been very blues or country influenced. But Seabear's music is full of modest vocals and violins with a little flare of music that sounds like something you might want to sway to on a beach somewhere.

The most recent episode of "Grey's Anatomy" featured their song "Cold Summer" in the closing montage. It's classic "Grey's Anatomy" closer music - strings, keys, horns and heartbreaking vocals. A match made in heaven. Their song "Cat Piano" has also been used in a BBC advertisement for Finding Neverland and in "Gossip Girl."

Okay, so indie/folk is a bit vague. Let's get a bit more descriptive: Seabear is "Sufjan Stevens meets Arcade Fire unplugged," according to Clash Magazine. And Rolling Stone has determined that lead singer Sindri Már Sigfússon is the Icelandic Beck (a la Sea Change). My two cents is that I've got three papers to write over the next five days and this will be just the right music to keep me calm and motivated.