La Roux tries to turn Mercury into gold

Kevin Bronson on
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laroux-ellyThe 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 been among the honorees; last year’s winner, Elbow for “The Seldom Seen Kid,” played a great show at the Wiltern this week.

La Roux, fronted by Elly Jackson, a 21-year-old with a voice that sounds younger, would seem a longshot for the prize, even in an age when electro-pop is vastly overrated and a laptop and a pair of goofy sunglasses can make you a dance-music star. The band’s debut album, “La Roux,” will be released Sept. 29 in the U.S. by Cherrytree (Interscope), and it’s got a handful of tracks that stuck to you like summer sweat, but as dance music albums go it’s rather kid stuff compared to fellow Mercury nominees Friendly Fires, or even the Whip’s “X Marks Destination” (my favorite dance disc of the year so far). You’ll want La Roux on your party mix, but it’s not the kind of album with staying power.

I’ve not heard four of the Mercury nominees (except for a quick who-are-they visit in MySpaceland), but I’m guessing Bat for Lashes is the odds-on favorite.

The rest of the nominees follow. Have a favorite? Chime in.

Bat for Lashes, “Two Suns” (Aug. 31 at the Music Box @ Fonda)
Florence and the Machine, “Lungs”
Friendly Fires, “Friendly Fires” (Aug. 24 at the El Rey Theatre)
Glasvegas, “Glasvegas” (Tuesday at the Music Box @ Fonda)
Kasabian, “West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum”
Led Bib, “Sensible Shoes”
Speech Debelle, “Speech Therapy”
Sweet Billy Pilgrim, “Twice Born Men”
The Horrors, “Primary Colours” (Sept. 30 at the Detroit Bar; Oct. 1 at the El Rey)
Lisa Hannigan, “Sea Sew”
The Invisible, “The Invisible”

The winner will be announced Sept. 8.