Belgium

Belgian indie pop outfit Girls in Hawaii formed in 2000 around the talents of sibling pairs Antoine and Denis Wielemans and Lionel and Brice Vancauwenberghe, along with friends Christophe Léonard and Daniel Offerman. The group's heady blend of neo-psychedelic pop and alternative rock drew comparisons to Grandaddy, the Flaming Lips, and Blonde Redhead in the French media, and by 2002 the band had signed with Brussels-based 62TV Records. Girls in Hawaii released Found in the Ground: The Winter EP and the full-length From Here to There in 2003, followed by Plan Your Escape in 2008. ~ James Christopher Monger