Mercury Music Prize 2013

Awards ceremony live tonight on More4, starting at 21:30.
Winner announced at 22:00 for those who couldn't be arsed watching the whole thing. (this bit will also be on Channel 4)
Laura Mvula is currently the bookies' favourite.

Shortlist:

Arctic Monkeys - AM
David Bowie - The Next Day
Disclosure - Settle
Foals - Holy Fire
Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg
James Blake - Overgrown
Jon Hopkins - Immunity
Laura Marling - Once I Was An Eagle
Laura Mvula - Sing to the Moon
Rudimental - Home
Savages - Silence Yourself
Villagers - Awayland

Surprised there's been no thread on this yet. The Mercury Prize is one of those awards I'm always interested in. So far I've listened to five of the albums on this year's shortlist - Arctic Monkeys, Disclosure, James Blake, Laura Marling and Savages. Of those five I think both Laura Marling and Disclosure are a tad too long - a few tracks could have been shaved off them to make them more consistent. I admire James Blake more than I enjoy listening to him - I can only really take him in small doses. Arctic Monkeys' AM is a pretty solid album but I doubt they'd be so quick to give them the award again; I doubt they'd want another double winner so soon after PJ Harvey.

Savages is my preferred choice; it's loud, intense, bleak and certainly stands out from the others on the list. Plus ending a punk album with a clarinet solo is really rather fantastic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEvgFYrmsaE

Any thoughts out there on who should win/who shouldn't win/who got overlooked *cough* Goldfrapp *cough* /anything else?

Or does no-one other than me still give a shít about the Mercury?

SilverScreen

Tomorrow's Harvest and m b v should have been on that list.

My favourite album from the list is Savages debut but it doesn't really strike me as a Mercury-winning album. A strange list since the best British and Irish albums released over the past 12 or so months were left off it.

The Princess Bride

Watch this every year, and will watch it tonight-can't believe it's 3 years since The Villagers were first nominated.
Would like to see Arctic Monkeys get it,I like the way they've matured with this album.

But it's anyone's guess.
Sometimes I think they just pick the winner from a drum.

I enjoy watching the "expert" panel, dissect every album and predict.I do wonder how often they actually listen to each album, though?

Pighead

Seems like James Blake and his album 'Overgrown' have prevailed. Haven't heard it yet.

Gonzovision

Immunity by Jon Hopkins was by far my favourite album on the list. I did enjoy Overgrown also.

smokedeels

I caught a few performances. I don't get the hype in regards to Savages, it's just a Southern Death Cult.... Banshees throwback. I didn't pick-up on anything else about their sound.... maybe I missed something.

ChuchuBear

disappointed in choice.less obvious for less obvious sake.