The National and Tindersticks and then some

Personally, I think the lead singer from The National has one of the sexiest voices ever. Check out "All the Wine" and you shall see the light. I really dig the song. See if you agree here.

Actually, while you're at it you should also take the time to listen to some Tindersticks. Their song "Trying to Find a Home" (available for download here) is just lovely and wonderful and calming and sweet.

Alright there are a bunch more bands that sort of go nicely with the above two. I found The Silent League while re-listening to The National and Tindersticks. They make orchestral pop. Listen and download their song "Breathe" here.

Also, these two songs are absolutely amazing: "The Ocean" by The Bravery and "To Build a Home" by The Cinematic Orchestra. Once again, thanks Grey's for introducing me. Unfortunately these aren't available for free, although I'd say they're worth forking out a dollar for. Before you do that, though, you can listen to "The Ocean" at The Bravery's official site (it's track 12 on the "The Sun and the Moon" album) and "To Build a Home" is available here. The Cinematic Orchestra's song is probably one of the most brilliant songs I've heard in a long time, apart from "Toothpaste Kisses" by The Maccabees of course. They're very different songs, with "Toothpaste Kisses" being a lot more cheerful I should say, but somehow I reckon they're still kind of similar, I can't quite explain it. In any case The Cinematic Orchestra uses some truly wonderful string arrangements in their song and if you don't know it, you must absolutely check it out. The other songs by the group, also available at the aforementioned link, are quite good too. So have a listen to that also if you have the time. They're quite different from "To Build a Home" though, more jazzy electronica-y, but good, nevertheless.