International artists have never been hard to come by, but a particular region hasn't dominated pop since the British invasion took hold in the 1960s. That changed this year with what we're informally christening the Scandinavian invasion. Some say it all started when the Hives arrived from Sweden in 2002 with Veni Vidi Vicious; this year the Nords have really attacked the American music scene. Who can get Peter Bjorn and John's infectious whistling out of their heads? Norwegian wunderkind Sondre Lerche released his brainy and brawny fourth album, Phantom Punch, in February, and graced the Paradise with his presence in April. But the true Nordic-philes have devoted iPod playlists to the femme fatales, including the pixie-ish El Perro del Mar (née Sarah Assbring) and the piano-pummeling Frida Hyvonen (think Tori Amos meets Courtney Love), both of whom shared a bill with the Danish collective Under Byen at the Museum of Fine Arts in March.
