Mercury Music Prize 2008
We've very happy with this year's Mercury nominations. We guessed 9 / 12 correctly and our only disappointment is the lack of Roisin Murphy on the list. While we'd personally love Neon Neon to take the prize we reckon it'll be Laura Marling , Radiohead or Burial .
Here's the line-up who'll battle it out to win the prize in September:
Adele - 19 : She's already got a BRIT Award and now she's been nominated for the Mercury Prize for her sensational debut album '19' which features the hit singles 'Hometown Glory', 'Cold Shoulder' and the massive No.2 smash 'Chasing Pavements'. Odds: 8/1
Burial - Untrue : Burial is an anonymous dubstep musician and this, his second album, was released to rave reviews in late 2007. Dubstep is an exciting new genre and if the judges are looking for something off the beaten track this year, we think Burial's in with a very, very good chance of scooping the prize. Odds: 6/1
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid Elbow are one of those bands the critics have always loved and wanted to be much more succesful than they actually are. So giving them the Mercury would certainly help them along the way. This is their third album and we think they deserve to win - even 'Grounds For Divorce' itself is worth the prize! Odds: 6/1
Estelle - Shine : Her first album may have come and gone without many people paying attention but the brilliant 'American Boy' has made sure that everyone's sat up and listened to 'Shine'. Produced by lots of American producers such as John Legend, Kanye West and Will.i.Am, we can't help but wonder if it's all a bit too American to win a prize celebrating British music. Odds: 8/1
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of Understatement : Alex Turner's already won this prize once and been nominated another time with his day job in the Arctic Monkeys, so it's little surprise to see him in the running again. Joint favourite with Radiohead, it's a collaboration with Miles Kane from The Rascals, and was produced by Simian Mobile Disco's James Ford who won the prize last year having produced Klaxon's 'Myths Of The Near Future'. Odds: 5/1
Neon Neon - Stainless Steel : Representing Wales, Neon Neon is the collaboration between Super Furry Animals frontman Griff Rhys and LA electrokid Boom Bip. 'Stainless Steel' is a concept album about the life of John Delorean (the man behind the Back to the Future car) and is totally amazing. Oozing 80s electro, we'd love this one to get more recognition and win! Odds: 10/1
Portico Quartet - Knee Deep In The North Sea Described by the judging panel as 'exuberant, hypnotic acoustic music', these four twentysomething lads were discovered busking outside the National Theatre in London. One of them plays an amazing instrument called a 'hang' which looks a bit like an upside down wok. At 10-1, they might be worth a flutter. Odds: 10/1
Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim Along with Portico Quartet, 18 year old Laura Marling performed at the launch event, wowing us with a spine-tingling version of her track 'Ghosts'. The judging panel said her album was 'beautifully composed' and 'emotionally compelling'. Odds: 8/1
Radiohead - In Rainbows : Originally released as a unique 'pay what you want' download, it's little surprise to see Radiohead up for the prize this year. 'In Rainbows' has been praised as being 'adventurous, challenging and hugely enjoyable'. Odds 5/1.
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand : Take one of the members of legendary rockers, Led Zepplin and a Grammy Award-winning country singer and you've got 'Raising Sand', the critically-acclaimed album from Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Odds: 6/1.
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music? : From Brighton via Cumbria, British Sea Power are brothers, Yan and Hamilton Wilkinson, Matthew Wood and Martin Noble. 'Do You Like Rock Music?' is their third album and includes the singles 'No Lucifier' and 'Waving Flags'. Odds: 8/1
Rachel Unthank & The Winterset - The Bairns : Another of the Mercury's infamous 'quirky' nominations, 'The Bairns' is the second album from sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank. Described as 'contemporary folk', the judging panel praised the pair's music for being 'enchanting and uplifting'. Odds 10/1
Comments
the last shaddow puppets should win their album is amazing!!! xx love megz xx
megzz
24 July, 2008
23:56
LAURA MARLING FTW!
Nick
23 July, 2008
15:30
most of these albums i haven't even heard of i think coldplay shood b in it... =)
matty p
22 July, 2008
17:51