Like many of the bands I listen to, I found Hem when they were a "New and Notable" artist on the Noisetrade website, offering the album Funnelcloud for download, with a number of tracks from the forthcoming 'Departure and Farewell'.
The first thing I noticed listening to Funnelcloud and Departure & Farewell was Sally Ellyson's voice. She has an amazingly expressive voice, which when paired with the music transports you to another world.
It's one of my favourite albums of the year; and I've been enjoying exploring their back-catalogue - which includes great covers of REM's So Central Rain and Johnny Cash's Jackson, along with a soundtrack for Twelfth Night as well.
You can watch a video Seven Angels here, and NPR has a video of Tourniquet. If you haven't heard them, they are definitely a band to check out.