Mercury Music Prize: Preview

On what basis can any sort of panel decide if the once ‘Banksy of dubstep’ is better than the Carole King of the 21st century, anyway? We’re not all that convinced they really can, but if we cast that doubt aside, we’re left with the following train of thought…

The Mercury Prize has Booker-aspirations and NME Shockwaves-denial, that much is for sure. To boot, there’s been plenty of analysis on how, over the years, the shortlist has comprised a series of tokens; urban, quasi-R&B, obscure jazz, folk-type, superstar collaboration, synth-heavy… and so it goes on. But isn’t that representative of the growing tendency to, y’know, listen to more genres? Mostly, yes.

While the broader concept of awards is losing its lilt, there’s absolutely no doubt that a Mercury nomination is a massive step-up for the likes of Burial,  Portico Quartet and Rachel Unthank, this time around. Antony and The Johnsons were propelled into focus a couple of years back, and that was a great thing. All this in spite of the fact that the artists are being pushed forward by the very same people that push the music on the minions in the first place, all the same. Bah, humbug.

There’s been some puzzling moments past – M People searching for the hero and winning; The View and The Darkness receiving nominations (!); Ms Dyna-my-tee-hee being proclaimed any quantity of good. As it turns out, this year’s list is the first for years missing an absolute howler – not that 2004 didn’t fill the quota for the next decade to come with Jamelia, Keane, Snow Patrol, Joss Stone AND The Zutons. But however impressive the 2008 shortlist may be, there are of course some glaring omissions. Which could only ever be rectified by Muso’s taking a place on the panel, of course (hint hint, powers that be). To us, they read like this:

Wild Beasts  - Limbo, Panto

The Futureheads -  This Is Not The World

The Long Blondes – ‘Couples’

Simon Breed  - The Smitten King Laments

Mystery Jets  - Twenty One

Roisin Murphy  – Overpowered

Jonquil  – Lions

They Came From The Stars, I Saw Them -  We Are All In The Gutter But Some Of Us Are Looking At They Came From The Stars I Saw Them

But that’s just an excuse to list the bands we like, right? Right. Now for the real shortlist…

Adele -  19

It’s a patchy rush-job of a record, but the highlights (‘Cold Shoulder’, ‘Hometown Glory’) are undoubtedly strong. Not likely to win, as the BRITS got in there first.

British Sea Power  - Do You Like Rock Music?
Timely nomination for the Kendal stalwarts, but we preferred the altogether more rabid, uncontrollable fervour of debut LP The Decline of British Sea Power.

Burial  – Untrue

This dubstep/garage hybrid is an open-eyed observation of the bleariness of Burial’s South London doorstep. The nomination’s symbolic enough though, so it won’t win.

Elbow  - The Seldom Seen Kid

Our favourite in the list, this is a timeless record that reveals more emotion with each listen. It’s stately and symphonic – and Guy Garvey is a full-on icon in the waiting.

Estelle  - Shine

Brilliant that the UK singer has risen to fame – but she’d have won with her first album if she was ever going to. ‘Wait A Minute’ is absolutely top-notch, though.

Last Shadow Puppets  - The Age of the Understatement

This Scott Walker rehash is Alex Turner’s third nomination, but there’s nothing new and exciting about this record. It’s just another pat on the back, really.

Laura Marling - Alas, I Cannot Swim

This lovely, delicate folk offering may just be this year’s winner. Teetering towards the airwaves, a win for this volatile bare-bones debut wouldn’t be misplaced.

Neon Neon - Stainless Style

No SFA nomination, puzzlingly, but this delightful tribute to John DeLorean is bliptastic fun – particularly ‘Dream Girls’. Not the most universal, surely though.

Portico Quartet - Knee Deep In The North Sea

We happed upon this lot live last year, and the album is intricacy personified. They’ve even invented a new instrument, the Swiss hang. ‘Cittagazze’ is absolutely sublime.

Rachel Unthank and the Winterset  - The Bairns

Intense Northumbrian “un-folk”, as bleak as it is heart-rending. The vocals are expelled with a Cat Power sense of yearning, and this nomination is very welcome.

Radiohead -  In Rainbows

A necessary candidate for the revolution it kicked off, maybe it’s finally time for Radiohead to win? It’s sparse, complex and innovative, but why now? Time may tell.

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand

One for the older audience, this unlikely duo have been selling out arenas. They’ve managed to skirt being compartmentalised, but a win could be seen as nostalgic.

So that was that. And in a quick recap of sorts, our predictions go like this:
We want Elbow to win, but we’d stick our tenner on Laura Marling. Portico Quartet are worth a couple of quid, though we wouldn’t give away our hard-earned cash on Adele, Last Shadow Puppets or Neon Neon. The End.