Best Unsigned Musician

Ambient modern popster Arthur Yoria has a special gift: a Buckleyish high tenor coupled with the ability to craft smart arrangements and melodies that are impossible to banish. What's more, he wraps that gift in some exceptionally pretty paper -- his band is one of the best in town. Matt Rhodes's pedal steel and the crack rhythm section of bass-man Dwayne Casey and drummer Ilya Kolozs are far more than mere window dressing. So far, Yoria and company have released a total of nine tunes on two EPs, and there's not a lump of coal among them. It's just a shame that Santa Claus -- in the form of a major label -- hasn't spread Yoria's gifts around a little farther.