What is the Mercury Prize?

Aha! I didn't read that cos it was under a picture of Ed Sheeran.

Tempest:
Yeah. "Lonely Daze" is pretty fantastic. Maybe track of the year for me.
The album lyrics as a whole are fantastic too. Concept album in the best sense.

xp agree it's a dumb list though - lots of the same things as the official, some of the fringe stuff switched for more populist fare plus a few random folky choices. thanks for saving music andy!

lj as an openly anticon man, have u heard the young fathers lp

― Nothing less than the Spirit of the Age (nakhchivan), Wednesday, September 10, 2014 9:55 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol

i suppose i'll 'have to' now

Listening on Spotify. I like it.

undie, the sound of 2014

Young Fathers are ace. Best thing to come out of Scotland for years. They won the Scottish Album of the Year in June with Tape Two, their 2013 EP, shielding the prize from shit like Biffy Clyro and Frightened Rabbit.

nah that was rly boring sry

thought the twilight sad were the scottish indie band to keep an eye on ;)

if you like beardy sentimental gunge rock

haw

probably otm, except they also started ripping off portishead on the last one

Maybe, i just dismiss this rubbish without listening nowadays. Scottish music is the worst: Frightened Rabbit, Admiral Fallow, Fake Major, Twin Atlantic, French Wives, Mersault... there are thousands of bands that sound like this up here, all getting 5-star reviews from The Skinny.

and a hyperbolic 35-post thread on drownedinsound.com

It's a real shame that the Twilight Sad are lumped in with the rest of that scene because they're much better than their contemporaries.

Is The Twilight Sad album any good? I was kinda put off by the huge DiS 10/10 masterpiece and associated articles histrionics

Also wonder what kind of sales bump Young Fathers will get as it appears they've only sold 2,500 copies of their LP pre-award

Is The Twilight Sad album any good? I was kinda put off by the huge DiS 10/10 masterpiece and associated articles histrionics

I just listened to about three songs off it (private session of course) because of boxedjoy's complaint that I'd unfairly lumped them in with the other Scottish gits. To be fair, it wasn't as bad as a lot of them. It just sounds like The National/Interpol/Editors kinda stuff - pure porridge music, but a lot of people like that.

I quite liked the first twilight Sad album. Produced by Peter Katis, who did a couple of National albums. Very strong Scottish accent and lyrics about being a miserable adolescent, which I found unusually affecting, plus great big swirls of guitar.

Young Fathers are the MMP nominees that I most wanted to hear out of the ones I hadn't heard.

First Twilight Sad album miles and miles better than The National and suchlike. Will have to hear this new one to judge it.

To paraphrase a recent Telegraph article about the Mercury - why does so much British music sound like it was made as part of some community centre youth project?

nanny state socialism

Because Bruce Springsteen is American.

I hate all that beardy boo-hoo Scottish indie-rock pish too. It's just as well there's lots of other stuff going on up here. Quite nice to see YF win in that respect, although it could be argued they're the hip-hop equivalent with their earnest emo soul. That's a bit of a glib analogy though. Some nice tunes, if not the greatest rappers - Hector Bizerk and Loki are much stronger in that respect.
High time Alasdair Roberts was nominated for the Mercury - mind you, he didn't even make the Scottish Album of the Year longlist, thanks to everyone voting for dreary bawbags like Frabbit, Biffy and Twin Atlantic.

I can't imagine anything called 'The Twilight Sad' possibly being good.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/29/quarter-of-mercury-prize-finalists-sold-under-1000-albums-since-nomination

just got a mailshot thing from Big Dada which mentioned the award in a kind of afterthought way, after hyping up the new Wiley album. good attitude tbh

I haven't actually heard the new Twilight Sad album yet so I can't comment on it, but so far they've been very strong even if their debut stands heads and shoulders above the rest.

a new fucking low

finally some recognition for ed sheeran

the ceremony should be richard dawson gunging the entire shortlist* and voting panel get-your-own-back-style then running off with the trophy

*stormzy and j hus exempted

guys guys guys

you're right, you're right

leave the Mercury outrage to that angry young firebrand Petridis. Tbh I hope Sheeran wins it!

Blossoms?? what the f

vera lynn snubbed again, a travesty

sorry, dame vera lynn

VL is 2 black, 2 strong!

bass for your face london

could someone just post the danged list

The Dinosaur album is worthwhile.

Mercury prize 2017 shortlist

Alt-J: Relaxer
The Big Moon: Love in the 4th Dimension
Blossoms: Blossoms
Loyle Carner: Yesterday’s Gone
Dinosaur: Together, As One
Glass Animals: How to Be a Human Being
J Hus: Common Sense
Sampha: Process
Ed Sheeran: ÷
Stormzy: Gang Signs & Prayer
Kate Tempest: Let Them Eat Chaos
The xx: I See You

thx Nick

I know nothing of any of these:

The Big Moon: Love in the 4th Dimension
Blossoms: Blossoms
Loyle Carner: Yesterday’s Gone
Dinosaur: Together, As One
Glass Animals: How to Be a Human Being

Dinosaur looks like their obligatory concession to jazz, the rest is undoubtedly fucking awful indie bollocks

dinosaur jr used to be called dinosaur until they got sued by a band called the dinosaurs who are these young upstarts why they oughta throw them in jail

Blossoms?? what the f

There's always a token gaz nomination iirc

loooool

lol! excellent wins!

I have The Big Moon in my 'to listen to' Spotify pile based on a recommendation from someone I trust. Currently playing Dizzee tho' so they'll have to wait.

I like the Kate Tempest record

not been a good ilx lynching in a while

that anti-austerity poem Katie did at Glastonbury, almost made me want to change my name by deed poll to Tory Bastard.