#118

Yeah. That was my plan.

3 Likes
#119

definite

Idles
Black Midi
Slowthai
Comet is Coming
1975

Maybe

Fat Whites
Self Esteem
Pale Waves
Gazelle Twin

I don’t think Idles will win, reckon they’ll go for a more left field choice this year after Wolf Alice last year.

2 Likes
#120

If Mark Ronson is classed as British (I think he is) then I reckon he is precisely the sort of artist the Mercury’s would promote.

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#121

Good good, glad you’re still planning on it :blush:

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#122

Surprised no-one’s mentioned Loyle Carner, seems very much like the kind of thing that’d get nominated (but almost certainly not win).

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#123

Asking this here too

2 Likes
#124

Oh aye that’s a good shout

#125

Cate Le Bon might have a good chance

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#126

I’d be very happy to see that album getting some attention.

#127

don’t think she’s ever been on the short list has she? CYRK & Mug Museum should have been at the very least. Seems a massive oversight.

#128

She hasn’t. Just remembered her latest is her fifth album so forget it actually, they’re probably not going to start nominating her now if they haven’t before

#129

I think it’s a brilliant album. She’s far enough under the mainstream radar that nominating her 5th album shouldn’t be a problem as she will be a totally new voice to most people. Won’t happen though will it.

#130

Didn’t even realise she had a new album out. Spotify time!

#131

Personally I think the latest record is a significant advance on her previous work.

#132

I love her earlier records but this is a totally different beast isn’t it? I would really struggle to describe what she is doing musically, I really can’t think of anything comparable. No doubt that’s due to my lack of knowledge but even so.

#133

Despite what I said earlier they do sometimes nominate some acts for the first time when they’re more than two or three albums down the line - but it is rare, they get crowded out by the debut nominations and the commercial acts getting nominations even though they won’t win anyway. There’s hope for Cate Le Bon yet! Er…maybe

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#134

She’s a woman in music who wears her emotions on her sleeve… Weird snarkiness towards that on here which I find odd and contra to a relatively progressive board on the whole.

Suspect it’s partly due to her position as an acceptable white face of hip-hop to people who otherwise associate that music with scary ‘black’ culture and a backlash to what’s seen as an unjustified level of critical and commercial success. I think that shifts her from someone folks can just not like to someone who people actively dislike. But that circles back to woman-in-music-proove-yourself-ism ultimately.

I think she’s fucking brilliant and one of the most compelling live acts I’ve seen.

And that video is fine - get over it you imbeciles.

4 Likes
#135

As I said somewhere higher up in this thread, this reflects a confusion about what the Mercury is supposed to be for. It’s not meant to be a prize for new acts yet they consistently nominate lots of debut albums, many of which are really not that good. I’ve nothing against promoting new acts, but they tend to detract from the idea that this is a prize for the ‘best’ album by crowding out more established acts.

Personally I think they should restructure the whole thing and have a prize for the various genres (best Pop album, best Alternative album, best Jazz album, best hip hop album etc) and maybe one for best debut album. They could have (say) a three album shortlist for each of those prizes, then choose winners and put all of them to the jury for the overall prize. That would satisfy the promotional purposes of the prize and also give more chance of picking a ‘best’ record.

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#136

That’s the thing, it’s not just nominating, the vast majority of winners are on their first or second album (even Konnichiwa was a kind of reboot album). Which also explains why there’s such a wide range of career trajectories afterwards for the winners.

So you want it to be similar to the Costa Award for books? Seems fair enough

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#137

Cate Le Bon is great but Crab Day is better than the new one. More angular, more marimba, catchier tunes

1 Like