Scandinavian Invasion

Sticking much more to mainstream rock, yet still creating a unique sound, the Raveonettes are Denmark's answer to the Strokes and the White Stripes, and if the legions of music critics who have praised their hip sound have their way, the Raveonettes may become the "the" band for the United States. Like their peers in this latest Scandinavian invasion, the Raveonettes have culled their rockabilly sound and punk-beat rhythms from the past, drawing on 50s rock and roll and the Velvet Underground. Backed by guitarist Sune Rose Wagner's distorted guitar feedback and bassist Sharin Foo's measured rhythms, the Raveonettes play euphonic garage rock replete with driving guitar riffs and intermittent hand claps. Their major label debut album was retooled with a happier chord and features a trace of surf guitars and a melody reminiscent of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Don't Come Around Here No More" on the lead single "That Great Love Sound."

America, prepare for the Leaves. The Icelandic band's debut, Breathe, which will be released September 23, is a sojourn through Coldplay and Oasis territory, with an altogether different direction. The foundation for the Leaves' music is from that island country in the north, yet they sound closer to the Brits than to fellow Icelanders, Björk and Sigur Rós. The group pairs singer Arnar Gudjonsson's sometimes ethereal, sometimes raw vocals with an arrangement that straddles the line between ambient pop and mainstream rock. Leaves' songs evoke a feeling of déjà vu, while at the same time exploring new dimensions of the two genres from which they take inspiration. The end-result is a sound all its own, earthy yet airy.

While Junior Senior is often initially described by the odd-couple pairing of the thin Jesper Mortensen (Junior) and the not-so-thin Jeppe Laursen (Senior), like the rest of the artists in this new breed of northern stars, this Danish dance-pop duo is not a novelty act. Instead, they are able to skillfully blend disco beats with rock and roll, funk and hip-hop to create fun dance music that's hipper than Fat Boy Slim. Their debut album, D-D-Don't Stop the Beat, features the same bouncing basslines, energetically-sung choruses, and hip-hop-esque backing vocals of their lead single "Move Your Feet." And while there's no colorful animated video replete with a mischievous squirrel, singing hot dog and dancing pineapple for the other tracks (so far), they do feature doo-wop elements, hand claps and cowbell-esque drumbeats.

Norway's Sondre Lerche is also crafting innovative pop, yet not by combining sounds in search of a danceable melody. Instead, he's a wide-eyed, less-brooding Rufus Wainwright, a Badly Drawn Boy with better vocals and mellower rhythm, a singer-songwriter with melody dripping from every sung line and his heart hanging continually from his musical sleeve. Lerche easily gets away with lyrics like "Now they live in Never-Never Land/ Claiming their tourists/ They light up the crowd and don't talk too loud anymore." In fact, his debut CD, Faces Down, was released last year to almost universal rave reviews, including #6 on Rolling Stone's "Best Albums of the Year," and a subsequent EP, Don't Be Shallow, hits stores September 23. This Norwegian troubadour definitely lights up his crowd.

Also deriving their sound from successful genres of yore, Sweden's the Sounds seem to have culled the catchiest hooks from the 1980s and crammed them into their premiere, Living in America, which was nominated for the Shortlist Music Prize. Earlier this summer, when the first single, "7 Days A Week," made it to MTV, the confident swagger and full-blown glamour of the 80s was indeed reborn. Like Blondie's Debbie Harry, frontwoman Maja Ivarsson purrs throughout Living in America with a sneer and enough oomph to make you forget that new-wave punk died a long time ago. Ivarsson herself sings about the traditional music themes, including redemption, puppy love and masochism, perfectly in tune with the synth-pop riffs. The entire album really is a musical cliché, but it's so artfully done and thoroughly catchy that you can't help but fall in love with these up-and-coming Swedes.