Bedouin Soundclash

Positioned somewhere between Bob Marley, the Police's Reggatta de Blanc phase, and classic skank-whipped Clash (check out the rude-boy swagger of 2010 single "Mountain Top"), Bedouin Soundclash has proved to be one of Toronto's brightest ska-based surprises. Led by vocalist and guitarist Jay Malinowski, who rounds out the trio with bassist Eon Sinclair and drummer Sekou Lumumba, the band — who met at Queen's University in Kingston (Ontario) — debuted in 2001 with Root Fire (featuring "Santa Monica"), before scoring a hit in the U.K. with breezy, spiritual beach-bum sing-along "When the Night Feels My Song" (2005), before impressing mightily with third album Street Gospels: check out the galvanizing groove of "Walls Fall Down" and the mellow acoustic rumble of "St. Andrews." Light the Horizon (2010) saw the trio expand its sound with stripped-back standouts, like "Brutal Hearts."