Mercury shortlist sends Glasvegas into orbit

Published on Tuesday 21 July 2009 21:59

SCOTS indie rockers Glasvegas have made it onto the shortlist of this year's contenders for the Mercury Prize.

The Glasgow-based quartet's self-titled debut, released last year, is one of 12 albums battling for the prestigious award.

Formed in 2006 in the city's east end, Glasvegas were discovered by former Creation Records boss Alan McGee.

Last year they were named the NME's most promising new band, with two hit singles, and have become one this year's festival must-sees.

Though the group were initially favourites to land the Mercury Prize, following the announcement of the nominations, bookies placed the odds on them at 12/1.

Instead, two female-fronted acts, Florence & The Machine and Bat for Lashes, are near neck-and-neck in the race to scoop the award, with odds of 5/2 and 7/2 respectively.

Previous winners of the 17-year-old gong have included Pulp, Franz Ferdinand, Klaxons and Primal Scream.

"This has been a rich and creative year for British and Irish music," said Simon Frith, head of the judging panel. "There are seven fine debut albums on the list and five outstanding records from more established acts, all marking out new ground."

Despite guaranteeing a boost in sales for all nominees, the prize has often been seen as a kiss of death for many acts who fail to find a commercially successful follow-up.

However, last year's winners Elbow bucked the trend with fourth album The Seldom Seen Kid, which has been their biggest release to date and went some way to revitalising their career.

The 12 nominees feature only one act which has previously been on the list, Bat For Lashes.

The list is also dominated by debut releases – seven out of 12 – including Speech Therapy by south London rapper Speech Debelle, whose experiences living in hostels are reflected in her lyrics. Other debuts include the eponymous releases by electronic trio Friendly Fires and the chart duo La Roux.

Leicester retro-rockers Kasabian have made the list for the first time with their third album, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. And Florence Welch, better known by her stage name Florence And The Machine, builds on her Critics' Choice prize at this year's Brit Awards by being shortlisted for her first album, Lungs.

Bat For Lashes, aka Natasha Khan, previously made the shortlist in 2007 with her debut album Fur And Gold.

The nominees are judged by an independent panel to be the key albums of the year regardless of how well they have sold.

Judges often uncover a quirkily recorded entry. This year it's Sweet Billy Pilgrim's album Twice Born Men, recorded by three session musicians on a laptop in a garden shed.

The award is often accused of tokenism for including folk and jazz entries. The 2009 jazz offering is from Led Bib for third album Sensible Shoes, while Irish musician Lisa Hannigan – who hand-stitched the cover of her album Sea Sew – flies the flag for folk.

The Mercury winner will be announced on 8 September.

THE CONTENDERS FOR MUSIC PRIZE

GLASVEGAS: Defiantly retro Scots rock, has echoes of indie legends the Jesus and Mary Chain, and the Clash.

KASABIAN: West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum is an unashamedly retro glam-stomp sound with big choruses.

THE HORRORS: Primary Colours is a wash of droning guitars and synths, with echo-laden, spooked vocals.

FRIENDLY FIRES: A dance-orientated sound with the feel of indie pop but the pulse of disco. Echoes of New Order.

LA ROUX: 1980s electro pop, redolent of early Depeche Mode but with Kim Wilde's vocals guesting.

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE: Ethereal in parts and rock-a-billy in others, Lung's vocals are reminiscent of PJ Harvey.

BAT FOR LASHES: Dominated by synths, Two Suns is closer in spirit to Joni Mitchell vocally.

LISA HANNIGAN: Delicate folk guitar and a string quartet make up the bulk of Sea Sew, with low key, softly delivered vocals.

THE INVISIBLE: Unusual combination of soft choral vocals and Radiohead-style chiming ominous guitars.

LED BIB: Sensible Shoes follows the free jazz style of John Coltrane, but with tuneful passages.

SWEET BILLY PILGRIM: Twice Born Men mixes quirky treated guitars and keyboards, with fragile vocals.

SPEECH DEBELLE: Speech Therapy is a mix of slow, loping hip-hop and gritty urban rap vocals.

Fiona Shepherd: List of nominees who fail to excite leaves me cold

THE Mercury Music Prize is often criticised for its seemingly formulaic choice of nominees, generally comprising a number of hip indie bands, an attractive female artist (or two, or three), a mainstream act (don't want to appear too elitist, after all), an obscure dance or hip-hop outfit (don't want to appear too mainstream, after all), some token old hand and the compulsory classical, jazz and folk nominees who are just there for the beer.

Yet no matter how humdrum the list, the best man/woman/band generally wins. One could quibble about the merits of last year's dull-but-worthy victors Elbow, but overall they were a popular choice. Previous winners Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys, PJ Harvey and Franz Ferdinand actually did release the best British album of their respective years.

But this year we are in for a struggle as a host of mediocrities – La Roux, the Horrors, Glasvegas and Kasabian (don't get me started…) jostle for position beside such uninspiring outsiders as flimsy folkstress Lisa Hannigan.

All of these acts have received passable reviews from The Scotsman. But passable is hardly a glowing commendation, is it? There is not an album on the list that could be described as audacious, essential listening or even terribly exciting.

The usual claim that the nominees represent the rich tapestry of the current UK music scene is demolished with even a cursory glance down the list – indie, indie, schmindie, indie, electro, indie, hip-hop, funk, folk, weird, jazz and indie. Sorry, classical, you just didn't make the grade this time. Neither did Girls Aloud, so I'm backing Led Bib. I have never actually heard Led Bib, but their odds are generous and surely one day jazz will be victorious.

Currently, Florence & her wind machine is the favourite, but maybe it will be second time lucky for Bat For Lashes, whose Two Suns is probably the pick of the bunch by virtue of ripping off Kate Bush with some panache. Maybe Glasvegas will crack a smile, or take their shades off indoors. Maybe Little Boots will turn up at the ceremony and pull La Roux's quiff. Maybe somebody will care.

But God help us all if the prize goes to Kasabian.