Mercury Prize 2019 Shortlist – The Poll

Meh.

cate le bon record is a miracle

Simz by a miiiile

...unless CLB record really is a miracle

GAZ COOMBES

no wait

IDLES

a Gaz for the new generation

As these are the threads where I hold forth to the delight of everyone especially Matt DC: Idles are SO FUCKING BAD

cringe the band

remember someone pointed out that for all their male feminist posturing they were touring with all male supports

“The whole point of that song was that it was meant to be an exploration of womanhood and my feminist standpoint,” Talbot says later. “But people just think it’s funny to swear. I’m not going to change how I write to make more people understand me or get my sarcasm.”

punk is saved!!

Lyrically and in terms of attitude Idles are 2018 version of Carter USM

The student punk stuff is worthless 1992 bargain bin bullshit but the rest of this shortlist looks a bit better than normal? Little Simz should win and probably will but the Dave and Slowthai albums are great, and I like the Nao and Anna Calvi records.

RMDE at them still sticking doggedly to just the one token jazz record in this of all years though.

Anna Calvi, The 1975 and Cate Le Bon are all great. Little Simz, Dave, Nao and Slowthai have their moments too.

Feels like this is one of the stronger lists in recent years despite the presence of Idles who are absolutely appalling.

RMDE at them still sticking doggedly to just the one token jazz record in this of all years though.

― Matt DC,

I was sure they would go with The Comet Is Coming.

I love the Fontaines DC album

Idles won't win.
But Idles.

voted for my boys (+ the other boys)

https://66.media.tumblr.com/6520a22a08f431b3c9a14079172b8773/tumblr_nxk0ejfhIF1rar173o1_640.jpg

Imagine the front pages if Slowthai win, with that title?

It's a he, not a they. And wait until they find out what he says about the Queen.

I dunno, the whole discourse of New Statesman-friendly worthiness around Slowthai is really at odds to how shambolic and hilarious and fun he is live. The title really doesn't help.

yeah, so many artists in the let's-broadly-call-it-grime category are vulnerable to that kind of social worker head patting while the music is still strong. you were right Matt btw this is a v enjoyable list beyond the lumpen guitar twats

tbh i feel like Nao is the most in my pleasure dome of all these right now

awards are still ridiculous and the Mookury is more terrible than most tho obv

I mean when I saw him at Glastonbury he was clearly completely baked and onstage in his pants and had to request some socks because the stage was too hot. Then spent half the set trying to instigate a moshpit and nicking bits of clothing from the crowd. Like if you were there for the music alone you'd probably have felt a bit short changed but it was impossible not to love it in the moment.

That stuff doesn't come across in the press at all as they've clearly decided to make him into the new Plan B.

his lyrics don't seem to bear that nonsense out tho, there's way more personal stuff than "pols and rich people are bad" which is also totally true and fine

Dave doesn't seem to get much ILM love (I recall being the lone voter for "Question Time", which I ranked first in the 2017 tracks poll), but I think he's excellent.

The Slowthai album must be the first Mercury nominated album to include a song about peeing on kitchen equipment, right?

Yes, although one could make a strong case for Gomez' 'Bring It On' sounding like someone peeing on kitchen equipment.

"I was blind, now I can see - You made a reliever, out of me.."

A+

cate le bon, no contest. best record of the year

^^^^^ otm

not familiar with most of these; surprised Calvi is there, I feel like that came out over a year ago but maybe it just slipped in under the deadline? Of the ones I am familiar with it's either that or Cate Le Bon.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

still the Cate Le Bon even though it didn't really stick with me

well, more like I didn't stick with it, it's a great record

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Only just listened to it yesterday but that SEED Ensemble album is excellent

Black Midi were fucking great there. Never heard of them before.

Apparently Slowthai held up a bloodied decapitated Boris Johnson head and shouted "fuck Boris" repeatedly?

oh, is this not live? yes I thought there was a weird edit there.

Man, Cate's performance is getting slammed all over Twitter. Was she really that bad?

pretty bad tbh.

Chuffed it went to who it went to.

No way, cate le Bon was a class act, there were a few odd sound rumbles but I think they were deliberate.

I like CLB well enough but her vocal was awful. It was quite possibly related to sound and/or rehearsal issues related to having 10 bands play in a very short space of time.

I thought overall that was the best music of any Mercury I can ever remember.

I haven't seen any ceremony footage but yeah this looks like a really strong list of albums to me (slowthai is my no. 2 of the year).

Slowthai's "fuck Boris" seems to have been reinstated on the iPlayer version of his performance.

Yeah, a good selection.

Cate le bon clearly off, bad sound foldback obv.

Nobody terrible! How about that?

Another decent list this year so far (not heard the Steve Lamacq championed band though)

The Mercury Prize 2020: a thread 👇

— BBC Radio 6 Music (@BBC6Music) July 23, 2020

was rooting for Anna Meredith right up until How I'm Feeling Now dropped

Love the fact she just said she was going for an Underworld vibe on Visions

GAZ COOMBES

No Jessie Ware then

Ware might be 12th

Anyway I'm excited for everyone having to listen to Sports Team again

They just announced that one xp

I suppose I'd best give Porridge Radio a try as well but the Mercury Prize is notoriously good at promoting really awful guitar bands (as opposed to good ones, which do exist, contrary to ILM consensus)

I really like the Porridge Radio album. Reminds me a lot of Goat Girl

It's pretty good but it feels sort of inconsequential, like "why this, now?"

That's a decent list all in all though, they should give it to Moses Boyd but I'm guessing it goes to Michael Kiwanuka.

Mercury Prize 2020 Shortlist – The Poll