Anyway, as someone who "works" as a music journalist (it's not my main job by the way), I have been privileged to hear something in the region of 150+ new albums this year. A fair percentage of these have been non-UK and Ireland releases, but I really did expect to have heard more than FIVE out of this shortlist!
Some colleagues think it has been a lean year for albums. I tend to disagree, but if I work within the confines of the rules for Mercury acceptance, I would struggle to come up with ten albums, never mind a dozen. The real oversight this year is the complete shunning of recent British electronic music, which is arguably as strong as it has ever been. The exclusion of near masterpieces by Actress, Shackleton, Holy Other and Rustie, all of which were recipients of 9/10 and 10/10 reviews from a wide range of publications, suggests that the selection process for this award is in need of a shake up. And if they are keen to acknowledge some veteran UK performers who have never won the award, well, Orbital have released their finest album for a very long time this year.
So last night, with the aid of Spotify, I waded through this shortlist and decided to share my reactions with you. I've included odds for the gambling types amongst you. (odds are from Paddy Power, other bookmakers are available)
Alt-J 'An Awesome Wave'
odds: 6/4
worth a flutter: No
had I heard this before today: Yes
what is it?: experimental indie
initial reactions: "triangles are my favourite shape" - seemingly obsessed with triangles which is a little unusual - their name is Apple code for the triangle, and the most immediate song on the album is called 'Tessalate'. I like some of their edgy arrangements and they take a lot of chances with vocal arrangements in particular, but overall the songs haven't clicked with me.
Ben Howard 'Every Kingdom'
odds: 14/1
worth a flutter: No
had I heard this before today: No
what is it?: Ben Howard is an acoustic singer songwriter in his early 20s.
initial reactions: Hints of a young John Martyn in some of the vocal stylings, and a maturity beyond his years. Possibly unfair to lump him in with the likes of Newton Faulkner and co.
Django Django 'Django Django'
odds: 4/1
worth a flutter: yes, though the odds are short
had I heard this before today: Yes
what is it?: an art-school troupe taking their leads from surf guitar, Krautrock, techno and Afro-pop
initial reactions: possibly my favourite UK/ Irish debut album of the year. There is so much going on, such strong tunes and even after many listens I'm still hearing new things.
Field Music ‘Plumb’
odds: 14/1
worth a flutter: No
had I heard this before today: Yes
what is it?: prog-rock meets pop
initial reactions: deceptively short songs with an awful lot happening in them. This reminds me of a lot of bands I don't like (10cc in particular). It has some strong songwriting but I just can't warm to it.
Jessie Ware ‘Devotion’
odds: 11/2
worth a flutter: Yes
had I heard this before today: No
what is it?: an accessible pop/ soul record
initial reactions: This has wide appeal, pop hooks, and is possibly the only link on the shortlist with the recent resurgence of electronic music as Jessie has often sung with SBTRKT. It washed over me however.
Lianne La Havas ‘Is Your Love Big Enough?’
odds: 14/1
worth a flutter: No
had I heard this before today: No
what is it?: a talented vocalist pitching herself somewhere between soul and new-folk
initial reactions: definitely worth listening to again as it is quite a subtle record. Fans of Bon Iver could do worse than check this out.
Michael Kiwanuka ‘Home Again’
odds: 14/1
worth a flutter: Yes
had I heard this before today: No
what is it?: 25 year old singer songwriter who sounds curiously out of his time, steeped in organic arrangements with flutes and brushes on drums
initial reactions: sounds like Moondance-era Van Morrison and is therefore worth further investigation. Ironically he won the BBC Sound of 2012 award. This could have been written and recorded in the late 1960s.
The Maccabees ‘Given to the Wild’
odds: 16/1
worth a flutter: Long odds, so maybe
had I heard this before today: Yes
what is it?: an indie band who have expanded their sound this time around
initial reactions: ambitious attempt at widening their basic indie-pop template, a lot of previous winners have come from the same sort of area, but ultimately this didn't grab me either
Plan B ‘Ill Manors’
odds: 16/1
worth a flutter: Yes
had I heard this before today: No
what is it?: the only hip-hop record here, and arguably the only record to deal with socio-political matters
initial reactions: a conceptual, cinematic drift through post-riots, pre-Olympics east London
Richard Hawley ‘Standing at the Sky’s Edge’
odds: 11/2
worth a flutter: Yes
had I heard this before today: No
what is it?: Highly regarded, previously nominated singer-songwriter. Lots of people think he should have won in 2006 with 'Coles Corner'.
initial reactions: surprising and interesting change of direction towards electric guitar based psychedelica
Roller Trio ‘Roller Trio’
odds: 25/1
worth a flutter: No
had I heard this before today: No
what is it?: (token jazz act) raucous jazz-funk, or so I am told
initial reactions: I haven't heard this
Sam Lee ‘Ground of its Own’
odds: 33/1
worth a flutter: No
had I heard this before today: No
what is it?: (token folk act) traditional folk-song narrative
initial reactions: authentic folk music, sounding technically very good and more interesting on first listen than some of those pop records up the page.
Conclusion? This is the weakest list for many a year. Time for a shake-up.
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