Blog: Buzz Bands

The nominees for the U.K.'s Mercury Music Prize were announced this week, and if about half the shortlisted artists aren't already familiar to Los Angeles audiences, more will be soon. In fact, the latest (and greatest, if you believe NME's breathless accounts) synth-pop sensation, La Roux , play to a sold-out Troubadour tonight, with four other familiar faces on the way soon. The Mercury Prize is given by the British Phonographic Industry and the British Association of Record Dealers for the best album of the past year. Primal Scream, Portishead, Pulp, Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys have [...]