The shortlist has been announced & nothing of great surprise on there by the looks of it.
*This year’s Mercury prize nominees*
Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler – For All Our Days That Tear the Heart
Joy Crookes – Skin
Sam Fender – Seventeen Going Under
Gwenno – Tresor
Kojey Radical – Reason to Smile
Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
Fergus McCreadie – Forest Floor
Nova Twins – Supernova
Self Esteem – Prioritise Pleasure
Harry Styles – Harry’s House
Wet Leg – Wet Leg
Yard Act – The Overload
Of those listed I very much enjoyed the Yard Act & Self Esteem ones, but I’ve not got to one or two of them yet (although i have heard some good things about the Harry Styles one). I will address this over the coming days.
Are there any glaring omissions? For me the album of the year has been SOAK with ‘If I Never Know You Like This Again’ & I doubt it will be surpassed. I have listened to it at least once a day for a couple of months now & it gets better each time. Would love to see them get some deserved recognition.
FWIW, I would put my money on Self Esteem winning, although to be honest anyone but Wet leg for me. They really really irritate me for some reason (OOAA)
Moi aussi. Talk about ‘flavour of the month’…
It only seems like…er…three months ago…
Very much flavour of the month, I am constantly surprised by the accolades they receive so it is likely I am missing something.
I know each to their own etc., but I just find them insufferably twee. I say this as someone who does not dislike a great deal of music (I even like Kate Nash so am well versed in twee (TMFTL))
They were supposed to support Foals at a recent gig I attended but had to pull out at the last minute. Maybe seeing them live would have swayed me.
Still liking it in my house. Don’t find it twee in the slightest. Just good guitar pop music . Something that everyone seems to have forgotten how to do at the moment.
I see they also made Barrack Obama’s summer playlist. So, they are certainly doing something right.
I may be basing this on the ‘scream’ bit that I saw them do on Jools Holland & the song about furniture.
I am always to admit to being wrong & will give it a proper spin to see if it grabs me. Good guitar pop music is usually well up my street.
And I still stand by every word.
Yes it can be seen as twee in places (and probably done on purpose), but thats half the fun of it.
OK, may not be the greatest album of the year (probably not cool enough for the Mercurys anyway) but it’s certainly on the list
I think Little Simz will win.
I agree.
And we were right.
The Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler record is terrific. Good to see Fergus McCreadie and Gwenno on the list. And Sam Fender, Self Esteem, Harry Styles, Little Simz and Wet Leg seem fair enough given the years they have all had.
Anyone missing? – to be honest I have no idea, though I would have thought that if they had had the obligatory ‘senior artist making a RTF’ Costello might have been in with a shout. The critics also loved Black Country New Road which I would have expected to be there, though to be honest it did nothing for me.
Was Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band – Dear Scott released too late to make the list?
Crazy that Michael Head wasn’t even nominated. And Wet Leg airplay already appears to have stopped in our house at least, so maybe that album might not stand the test of time. Will try some of the others via streaming over the next few days.
Bit “uncool” for this list, no? Has Michael Head ever appeared on Later in some appalling dungarees? No.
Bernard seems to have Charlotte Bronte-ing of the hair these days.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-62255561
“Reader, he’s my insatiable one”
Disappointed that the Nilufer Yanya album isn’t nominated. It would have benefitted from the wider exposure. Agree that Lil Simz the likely winner though.
I would have thought the Smile album would have been in with a shot.
The only three records in my top ten from last year which would be eligible are in. Result!
The Harry Styles album is really good – no, honestly! – but it won’t win.
Well I’m putting a tenner on it now.
Is that because Black Type doesn’t rate its chances? Or because you do?
Both.
What are youse tryin’ to say, like?
Who’d a thought he would turn out to be 1D’s McCartney? Well played from the youngster. Except he sings more like Lennon. Hey ho.
I hope Fergus McCreadie wins. His playing flows exquisitely.
Indeed! Go, Fergus!! beautifully constructed Scottish jazz, exuding tradfolk memories.
Loyalties split, tho’, as Gwenno’s Tresor is her best yet and should appease the 900 odd speakers of Cornish (or Kernelow, as you all knew it was called) left. In truth, since she started singing in that tongue, interest and demand for learning it has gone up dramatically.
See also Scottish Gaelic and Manx, for similar musically led reasons.
Yeah – here’s a band who sing occasionally in Manx: Littlebow
The singing starts after about 2:20 of the track…
https://littlebow.bandcamp.com/track/too-green-these-widows-weeds-2
Ah, Ms McVittie! A squeezer (@pencilsqueezer ) favourite I believe. Or he commended her to me.
Well doesn’t that just take the biscuit…
I’ll get me (the) hat
Crumbs.
You did well jacking up both humorous play on names
I have Fergus McCreadie’s previous album, “Cairn”. It’s really good.
How does the Mercury-nominated “Forest Floor” compare to “Cairn”?
It’s really good as well.
🙂
I think Self Esteem too.
It has a certain zeigeisty thing about it, which Mercury winners normally have.
Very happy to see Nova Twins nominated. I saw them at Bearded Theory a couple of months ago and really enjoyed them. And it’s nice to see people who aren’t male and aren’t white playing heavy music.
How is the old Bearded these days? Tried to bag some freebies but they wouldn’t buy…….