New Music Releases Thread

Surprised not to see any mention of the Mercury nominations on here (unless I've completely missed it!), suppose nobody really gives a shit about it anymore.

Anyway, they are

Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams

Berwyn – Demotape/Vega

Black Country, New Road – For the First Time

Celeste – Not Your Muse

Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra – Promises

Ghetts – Conflict of Interest

Hannah Peel – Fir Wave

Laura Mvula – Pink Noise

Mogwai – As the Love Continues

Nubya Garcia – Source

Sault – Untitled (Rise)

Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend


That's a very good list. I'd hope that either Sault or Mogwai win.
A strong list that, I like every album on there that I've listened to.

There's an article on The Telegraph bemoaning the lack of Tom Jones on the list, apparently it would help if they had some established artists included. An interesting take on the Mercury Prize I suppose.

Yeah, the whole point of the Mercury was always supposed to be about it going to up and coming artists not household names.
 
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That's a very good list. I'd hope that either Sault or Mogwai win.


Yeah, the whole point of the Mercury was always supposed to be about it going to up and coming artists not household names.

I've never really understood when you see names like Arctic Monkeys, Foals, Florence and the Machine etc on there. What can they possibly gain from winning it?

Just looking through recent years and this year's probably is the least mainstream admittedly, there seems to be one really big name chucked in for good measure normally.
 
I've never really understood when you see names like Arctic Monkeys, Foals, Florence and the Machine etc on there. What can they possibly gain from winning it?

Just looking through recent years and this year's probably is the least mainstream admittedly, there seems to be one really big name chucked in for good measure normally.

I'm not sure that Foals are quite as Glastonbury headlining famous as Arctic Monkeys or Florence but I'd agree. I'm not sure any of this year's nominees fit that category. You could argue that Wolf Alice are probably closest. I thought Laura Mvula was a lot more successful than she is.
 
Is their shtik that their unknown, mysterious - the chances of them performing or turning up slim? Or I have totally misunderstood who they are?

Yeah as far as I know they’re anonymous, however Apple Music strangely had Jack Penate credited on their recent album when I was reading the lyrics.
 
There are new albums this week from Anika, Darkside, Dave, David Crosby, Descendents, Jackson Browne, Kanye West, Leon Bridges, Mega Bog, Shiny Joe Ryan, Piroshka, Molly Burch, Alexis Marshall, Alasdair Roberts og Volvur, Emma-Jean Thackray, Amaro Freitas, Rodney Crowell and Rodrigo Amarante.
Will no doubt give Piroshka a go - quite enjoyed the first one from memory and have an age-related soft spot for Lush
That's a very good list. I'd hope that either Sault or Mogwai win.


Yeah, the whole point of the Mercury was always supposed to be about it going to up and coming artists not household names.
Both times PJ Harvey she was already established, especially Let England Shake. Didn’t Elbow win it several albums in as well, so I feel like it’s been turning a blind eye to that idea for a long time. And, yeah, I feel I’m not exactly helping the argument here by hoping for a Mogwai win!
That's a very good list. I'd hope that either Sault or Mogwai win.


Yeah, the whole point of the Mercury was always supposed to be about it going to up and coming artists not household names.
Both times PJ Harvey won she was already established, especially Let England Shake. Didn’t Elbow win it several albums in as well, so I feel like it’s been turning a blind eye to that idea for a long time. And, yeah, I feel I’m not exactly helping the argument here by hoping for a Mogwai win!
 
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Yeah as far as I know they’re anonymous, however Apple Music strangely had Jack Penate credited on their recent album when I was reading the lyrics.

They're well connected. Little Simz was on the recent album and Michael Kiwanuka has been involved previously.
Both times PJ Harvey won she was already established, especially Let England Shake. Didn’t Elbow win it several albums in as well, so I feel like it’s been turning a blind eye to that idea for a long time. And, yeah, I feel I’m not exactly helping the argument here by hoping for a Mogwai win!

I don't think either PJ Harvey or Elbow were names that were well known outside of music fans when they won though (like Mogwai). You could argue that the Mercury Prize, together with a well timed Glastonbury performance, helped Elbow to reach a wider audience than they'd previously had. They certainly started playing bigger venues.
 
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I don't think either PJ Harvey or Elbow were names that were well known outside of music fans when they won though (like Mogwai). You could argue that the Mercury Prize, together with a well timed Glastonbury performance, helped Elbow to reach a wider audience than they'd previously had. They certainly started playing bigger venues.
I get what you’re saying, but surely by that argument after she’d won it the first time, wouldn’t that mean that she now had the perceived bump and was therefore established the second time, which is a good decade ago now? And who is interested in the Mercury Prize if not music fans? Point taken though - her second win and Elbow we’re both while I was out of the UK so I don’t know how well know or not they were 👍
 
I get what you’re saying, but surely by that argument after she’d won it the first time, wouldn’t that mean that she now had the perceived bump and was therefore established the second time, which is a good decade ago now? And who is interested in the Mercury Prize if not music fans? Point taken though - her second win and Elbow we’re both while I was out of the UK so I don’t know how well know or not they were 👍

I tend to think of the Mercury Prize as being something that can (occasionally) move an artist toward wider public acknowledgement. That doesn't always work, of course. The main benefit to the artists was usually a sponsored stand in HMV, FOPP etc. in a prominent position. That clearly doesn't happen now (well, maybe in FOPP?). Ultimately, it's an attempt to choose the best British/Irish album for a 12 month period, ignoring the commercial concerns that the BRIT awards have.
 
Gave Daves album a listen through and enjoyed it. Not sure it's as good as Psychodrama but will need to give it another go.

No surprises that Donda still hasn't turned up.
 
You could argue that the Mercury Prize, together with a well timed Glastonbury performance, helped Elbow to reach a wider audience than they'd previously had. They certainly started playing bigger venues.
as its topical, it was the olympics & euro 2008 that did it for elbow with the mecury the cherry on the cake. the album launch tour in early 2008 at the academy in newcastle had the same faces in the audience that had been there since the basement of newcstle uni in 2000/2001... tv uses one day like this as the bed music all summer and come the autumn tour it was an entirely new audience. with a mercury, glasto main stage & a brit its onto arenas... thankfully they're out the otherside now. just recorded a new album the other week at the theater royal in brighton
 
I tend to think of the Mercury Prize as being something that can (occasionally) move an artist toward wider public acknowledgement. That doesn't always work, of course. The main benefit to the artists was usually a sponsored stand in HMV, FOPP etc. in a prominent position. That clearly doesn't happen now (well, maybe in FOPP?). Ultimately, it's an attempt to choose the best British/Irish album for a 12 month period, ignoring the commercial concerns that the BRIT awards have.
M People won it one year and they were practically mainstream at the time. Even Primal Scream and Suede were quite well known when they both won it. There's definitely been a conscious shift into the more obscure over the last few years imo.
 
Is their shtik that their unknown, mysterious - the chances of them performing or turning up slim? Or I have totally misunderstood who they are?

Inflo produced all the Sault records, along with Michael Kiwanuka and Little Simz’s recent albums. Kiwanuka and Simz share the same manager too. My guess is it’s the three of them collaborating, with Inflo as the ringleader. Would be shocked if they (whoever they actually are) turn up to the ceremony like.
 
My mini review of the week. Quite a lot to go through, although it's bolstered by a couple of albums I'd forgotten about in earlier weeks...

John Murry - it came out in June and it's very good. His baritone drawl over some excellent but simple music. Top lyrics.
Jackie Leven - talking of top lyrics, Leven was a Scottish singer songwriter who died a few years ago. This is a career spanning compilation Exceptionally good!
Molly Burch - great voice, good songs, poppier than her earlier albums.
David Crosby - really, really good. He's still got it in spite of being about 802 years old.
Alasdair Roberts og Volvur - a collision of folk styles, Roberts from Scotland, Volvur from Norway. Maybe a bit more proggy than Roberts' solo outings.
Rodrigo Amarante - singer-songwriter from Brazil but resident in the US. He's probably best known as front man of Fabrizio Moretti's other band, Little Joy. It's a good album, combining Latin rhythms with North American indie rock.
Anika - her first solo album in 11 years. This is great. Deadpan vocals, electronica, sometimes quite poppy, sometimes not.
Leon Bridges - a little less consciously retro and also a little less upbeat than his previous releases. He's evolving as an artist. This is good.
Steve Dawson - a Canadian singer and guitarist, not the bloke from Saxon. This is a nice album of pretty straightforward folk/Americana.
Amaro Freitas - he's a Brazilian jazz pianist. Parts of this album are very good, other parts drag a little.
Mega Bog - twisty, turny, slightly folky indie rock. Really enjoyable!
Emma-Jean Thackray - kind of space jazz. Choral vocals, interesting instumentation, themes of higher being, or something. Excellent.
K.D.A.P. - one I forgot from last week. It's basically a Broken Social Scene album minus the vocals.
Alexis Marshall - interesting, semi-spoken vocals, jarring guitars, kind of epic, kind of weird, kind of scary.
Darkside - the first in 8 years from Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington. Exceptionally good. Sort of electronic but vocally, really good.
Piroshka - old school indie meanderings from something of a supergroup. Pretty good.
Dave - one of the top men in UK hiphop continues to develop. This is a good album.

Album of the week: a four way tie between David Crosby, Anika, Emma-Jean Thackray and Darkside.
 
I spoke to someone at a label yesterday who said the lead time for vinyl production is now 8 months and the plants won’t even discuss an order til the masters are fully delivered :eek:

Albums being mastered this week are unlikely to see a physical release til March 2022 at the earliest. Indie labels especially who rely on direct to consumer, bundles and in store performances won’t even consider releasing until the vinyl is on order. Major dearth of new albums incoming.
 

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