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  5. Well I’ve heard of Arctic Monkeys and I remember hearing I bet you look good on the dancefloor back in the day, though nothing knowingly since. I don’t think I’d make a good Mercury judge.

  7. Heard ‘em all apart from Ezra Collective and The Monkees. The only one I think of as a play-through album is Raye.
    I never know what the exclusion dates are and wonder whether such as Gabriels, Alison Goldfrapp, The Big Moon and Jamie T are disfavoured or just ineligible. (I gather you also have to put yourself forward – bit of a dilemma for SAULT having to pick one to submit..)

  12. I find the Lankum rather worthy and hard work to be honest. The Jessie Ware is anything but – it’s not deep but full of good tunes and terrifically enjoyable pop production.

    • Lankum is the only one I’ve heard, after recommendations here, and my problem is that if I didn’t already know I honestly couldn’t tell if it was meant to be a parody or not.

  13. I know and like 4 of them – Fred Again, Jessie Ware, Raye, Young Fathers

    I’ve heard of 3 more – Arctic Monkeys, Ezra Collective, Lankum

    (You didn’t really need to know that, did you?)

  14. I have four of them – Ezra Collective (excellent, should win), Fred Again (I like it a lot), Jockstrap (also excellent, a worthy contender) and Young Fathers (again, I like it a lot but need to revisit).

    I have also heard Arctic Monkeys a few times – I just find it a bit dull.

    Following comments above I will investigate Jessie Ware (Mrs H is very fond of her, but I have found it a bit glossy in the past) and, with a little trepidation, Lankum.

  15. My tally:

    – Know the album and act and listened to it: 1 (False Lankum – so this is my favourite to win)
    – Heard of the act and album but not listened: 1
    – Heard of the act, but never heard of the album: 5
    – Never heard of the act at all, not a clue: 5

    Go me!

  16. I bought Arctic Monkeys, Jessie Ware, Loyle Carner and Olivia Dean, and like them all. Arctic Monkeys are a very different band now from what they were and haven’t taken everyone along on that journey with them, but I like the last two a lot more than Humbug and Suck It And See.
    I’ve heard of all the other artists but am not very familiar with their work – I must check a few of them out. But back in the day I probably would have owned 5 or 6 of those others.

  18. Worthy winner; great album. At last the British Jazz Renaissance has garnered mainstream recognition, which is long overdue. A huge amount of the most creative and progressive contemporary music in this country is ‘jazz’.

    Also, my son is named after the winners. He’s 7 months old. Good year to be an Ezra.

  20. Awards are of course a nonsense but Ezra Collective was the right decision. It’s a fine example of how the most arresting, jubilant and interesting music currently being produced in the UK is frequently from the young urban jazzers. I’ve said it before but it bears reiterating that UK jazz is currently enjoying a golden age. Long may it continue.
    Only last Friday Matthew Halsall, Yussaf Dayes, Alabaster Deplume, Irreversible Entanglements and Lack Of Afro released new albums into the wild. All well worth a listen.

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