King Creosote and Jon Hopkins – Diamond Mine
Diamond Mine is the beautiful collaborative album between Scottish singer-songwriter King Creosote, and electronic artist, Jon Hopkins. The result is a strange but wonderful almost soundscape album, described by King Creosote himself as the ‘soundtrack to a romanticised version of a life lived in a Scottish coastal village’, The album is an amalgamation of King Creosote songs, and recordings of sounds, from the chattering of Scottish women, to the chinking together of cups. This is then layered over Hopkins backdrops of serene and psuedo-Eno music. At only seven tracks, the album is short, but the result, especially listened to as an album in its entirety, is a pleasure which little music can deliver today. A little leftfield to scoop the prize?
PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
Having won the Mercury award back in 2001, PJ Harvey is back and already a frontrunner in the stakes so far. The album, focusing on her home land and World War I was recorded in Dorset in a 19th Century church on a cliff side, overlooking the sea. That appears to be the atmosphere created and encapsulated in this album, an air of mystery, ambiguity, and mistiness, whilst the music seems to have that effortless drawl that is strangely appealing. From the strange, out of time and out of tune trumpet reveille to the dingy lyrics capturing Harvey’s feelings: ‘The damp grey filthiness of ages, fog rolling down behind the mountains and on the graveyards and dead sea captains’, Let England Shake establishes itself as an interesting and emotional concept album.
Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi
Gothy, velvety and dramatic vocals from alto, rouge-lipped, slightly scary Anna Calvi on her debut album. There are however distinctive parallels between her and PJ Harvey’s work, which seems a little strange that both would be nominated for the prize. The atmosphere is there, the concepts, the drama, but Harvey’s album sounds more mature, more established. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but despite the parallels, I imagine that people will have a strong favourite between Calvi and Harvey, and not enjoy the two. In the album’s own right though, Anna Calvi is a powerhouse of spooky and imposing tracks which leaves the listener half way between impressed and unnerved.
Ghostpoet – Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam
What a debut. The out-of-leftfield album from Obaro 'Ghostpoet' Ejimiwe is certainly like nothing that has been heard in a while. The lazy and relaxed delivery coupled with lyrics dealing with his individuality: ‘Other MCs want to talk about crime... but that ain’t me’, as well as Brit culture: ‘I heard it in a TV programme, so it must be right, right?’. There are no horrific egotistical musings, or talks of ‘booty‘, rather a strange self deprecation and relatable set of lyrics that provide the listener with much more food for thought than the average MC. It is refreshing to see a nomination such as Ghostpoet’s on the Mercury list. Not an expected winner or a frontrunner, but a great album nonetheless.
Tinie Tempah – Disc-overy
He clearly connects with the mass market, but with lyrics that clearly have been lifted straight out of a rhyming dictionary, it baffles me as to why. With a generation that appears to champion predictable, egotistical, and unnecessarily vulgar lyrics and music, Tinie Tempah certainly follows suit in this respect. The depth of his lyrics move through the profound and philosophical ideas of clubbing, women, and drinking, oh, and murder: ‘My neighbours keep getting murdered, so we sleep with the alarm’. Granted, a couple of tracks are catchy at best, but up against most if not all of the other albums nominated, Disc-overy just doesn’t match up.
Metronomy – The English Riviera
The sound of seagulls is not something I would usually encourage for the opening of an album, their annoying cawing most often reserved for trips to the beach. However, in Metronomy’s case, this sets up their Torbay-themed album up nicely. After the last indie-electro party album, Nights Out, The English Riviera is a little more Daft Punk, and more than a little sunshine-y. However, despite the differences between the albums, there are some consistencies. The twisted rhythms still remain, and the catchy and insistent drum patterns prevail. The overall mood and atmosphere of the album resembles happy-go-lucky surf-rock turned electro. A good album, but with some flaws and weaker tracks.
Adele – 21
Southern soul, upbeat pop songs, and heart-wrenching ballads, 21 delivers on all counts of a great pop album. There is no denying that Adele has an incredible voice, with some gorgeous facets - the breaks you can hear in emotional lines and the slight growls, all adding to the conveyance of the lyrics. This is an album that takes you through many emotions. It will be played after a painful breakup, and yet songs such as ‘One and Only’ are perfect first-dance at a wedding songs. After 19 however, there appears to be a little hole where the real rawness once stood. Adele is a great female artist but maybe this choice is a little obvious to scoop the prize?
Katy B – On a Mission
Now for those of you a little precious about your Dubstep, you will probably get all angry and wobbly, however, Katy B’s debut is a mainstream and popular dubstep album. This year she has had top 5 singles, and has made a name for herself in her own right, despite the trend of dance tracks to use unheard of, and certainly one-off vocalists. Katy’s dance credibility is reinforced by her links with DJ Zinc, Geeneu and Benga, who produced her album. The album moves freely through different genres of dance music, highlighting that this is not merely a glorified pop album with an awkward attempt to drag in some unwilling dance fans. Maybe a surprise and unexpected winner?
James Blake - James Blake
After being placed second in the BBC Sound of 2011 poll, things were looking promising for James Blake. His cover of Leslie Feist’s ‘Limit To Your Love’ was everywhere, however on release, meekly waved to the world at number 39 in the charts, before promptly disappearing just one week later. So, after the slightly negative start in the world of auto-tuned pop music, what can James Blake offer to the world? Well, he has jumped on the auto-tune band-wagon, but in inconceivable and new ways. His album, influenced by dubstep and glitch-hop is not a particularly easy listen, but it is a good listen. There are the highs, he has certainly picked his singles well, but in other areas, it falls a little flat. There are so many good ideas in there that are trying to get out, but some are clearly struggling. Perhaps he will firmly find his feet on a second album, and hopefully the nomination will ensure he continues to experiment. It is certainly refreshing to hear something different.
Elbow – Build a Rocket Boys
After their win in 2008 with fourth studio album, The Seldom Seen Kid, Elbow’s success and fame has gone from strength to strength. Now, in 2011, Build a Rocket Boys is back in the Mercury Shortlist. So does it have a strong chance again? Although the sensible thing is not always the best or the most fun to do, Elbow have carried on from where they left off, condensing and exploiting the best parts of their previous effort into their new album. Nothing is ground-shaking or ridiculously innovative, but this is a strength rather than a weakness. Cue the anthemic and soaring choruses, orchestrated tracks, and the appearance of some heavier, rockier guitars. However, with a relatively recent win, does this effectively rule Elbow out of the running? I certainly hope not.
Everything Everything – Man Alive
The frenetic and almost manic indie-pop sounds of Everything Everything have secured their debut album, Man Alive, a spot on the Mercury shortlist. From the amazing tongue-in-cheek ‘misheard’ lyrics of Suffragette Suffragette ‘Who’s gonna sit on your face when I’m gone?’, to the glitchy melodies and wild vocal deliverance from lead singer Jonathan Higgs. The album is an aural whirlwind of exciting existential crises, funky rhythmic bass, and discordant harmonies. Not one for a quiet night in, but a fantastic debut and one of the top nominations for me.
Gwilym Simcock - Good Days At Schloss Elmau
Classically trained pianist and composer, Gwilym Simcock is this year’s unexpected choice. Last year we found The Kit Downes Trio in a similar position. When it was decided to include one ‘wild card’, jazzy and unusual choice every year? This however suggests unhappiness about this very decision. The only unhappiness is that it is unfortunately hugely unlikely that Simcock will take home the prize this year, despite having an interesting and exciting album consisting of an interesting blur between classical and jazz. Working his way through Chetham’s music school, achieving a first at The Royal Academy of Music, being commissioned to compose and perform his work at the Proms in 2008, having a stack of awards to his name, and a rather extensive discography, Simcock will hopefully gain a larger, mainstream following from his nomination. A great album consisting of some wonderful free jazz, bluesy melancholy, and some obscurely classical modulations and melodies.
