The Lighthouse and the Whaler/Humble Home/The Womack Family Band/Seafair

Things started to snowball for the Lighthouse and the Whaler after the 2008 EP A Whisper, A Clamor, which caught the attention of an editor at hipster-approved music magazine Paste. A track from that record eventually showed up on a sampler CD that the magazine released in 2009 and helped generate national attention. The band followed the EP a year later with their self-titled debut album, which created even more buzz, but also led to some lineup changes. With the release of its latest album, This Is an Adventure, an indie pop effort that still has traces of the band’s folk rock roots (the group started when two of its members began performing acoustic one day in an open field), the band portends to find its way onto the playlists of anyone who listens to acts like the Shins and the Decemberists. (Jeff Niesel)