Earlier today, nominees were announced for the U.K.’s Mercury prize, which is sort of like the Grammy for Album of the Year, only with better artists and no de facto requirement that you’ve moved a million units. You already know the frontrunners, including Amy Winehouse, Dizzee Rascal and Arctic Monkeys, who won the Mercury last year. But there are some fairly obscure names on the list — like Breaking Artist Bat for Lashes. So here’s a primer for the non-Anglophiles out there: Rock Daily’s favourite Mercury newcomers.

Maps
Who: James Chapman, a one-man-band from Northampton, England.
Sounds Like: Maps’ debut, We Can Create, is full of lush, atmospheric pop that recalls My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless — only warmer and less noisy.
Fun Fact: Chapman recorded the album in his bedroom, mostly on a sixteen-track recorder.

       
Jamie T
Who: Twenty-two-year-old London singer-songwriter Jamie Treays.
Sounds Like: Treays’ debut, Panic Prevention, is long on tuneful, sharp-witted character sketches and charming, ramshackle tunes built on keyboards and samplers. The album has been compared to both the Streets and Badly Drawn Boy.
Fun Fact: Treays has self-released a series of mixtapes called Panic Prevention Disco, which have included songs by Primal Scream, Kate Bush and Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

The View
Who: Scottish quartet whose debut, Hats Off to the Buskers, debuted at number one on the English pop charts early this year.
Sounds Like: Bright, spiky Britpop with action-packed grooves and sweet melodies — like a more cuddly version of the Artcic Monkeys.
Fun Fact: The View got initial exposure opening for Babyshambles this year after Pete Doherty saw them busking outside one of his gigs in Scotland.

New Young Pony Club
Who: London quintet who debuted this year with Fantastic Playroom.
Sounds Like: Popwise, danceable electro-rock — something like LCD Soundsystem, or what Brit kids call “New Rave.”
Fun Fact: NYPC were introduced to American ears when a Fantastic Playroom track, “Ice Cream,” was used in a TV spot for Intel Core 2 Duo.

Photo: ACHOUD/AFP/Getty