Stefan Ellis

This guy makes intelligent, sensitive music which sounds like adult contemporary but is labeled alternative due to his "quirky" lyrics and choice of eyeglasses. He is a multi-instrumentalist and articles about him always carry some kind of title like "Indie Rock Has Grown Up," or "Alternative Rock That's Not Afraid of Melody." Your parents really like that song of his on the radio, but you find him painfully dull. Basically, he's this generation's Elvis Costello.

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"When I wake up, well, you know I'm gonna be; I'm gonna be the band who's pictured in this photo." That's right; this is what The Proclaimers look like these days. You know, that band responsible for that song from Benny & Joon?

LINK: www.proclaimers.co.uk

Black Dynamite

I'm pretty sure this band sounds exactly like Evanescence. More attention is probably given to the lead singer's breasts than the actual music, but such is the case when your band is made up of four ugly dudes and one chick.

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This is actually the goth/power/death metal band Nightwish. I'd say there are some Evansscence parallels.

Link: http://www.myspace.com/nightwish