I've been away for a while so this post is a bit late, but I just wanted to talk about the Mercury Prize from a few weeks back.
For me, the highlights of the nominations were Laura Marling, Foals and The XX.
20 year-old singer-songerwriter Laura Marling's second album I Speak Because I Can is her second to be nominated for the Mercury Prize. It is a mature, dark, brooding record - unexpected from someone of her age - that contrasts with her previous nomination Alas, I Cannot Swim. She fully utilises her voice's primitive punch in this album, teaming it perfectly with ominous backing and her characteristic trickling fingerpicking. These songs seem more melancholy than her previous offerings, and they take on mammoth subjects - life, death, heartbreak, responsibility. It's as if, to me, the album reeks of history - songs such as What He Wrote, Made in Maid and Devil's Spoke all hearken back to a more uncomplicated time without losing any of their own sophistication. All that's brought to mind is costume dramas, witches and denied love.
Marling expertly emulates an old traditional folk style, and uses great contrast in her instrumentation. The single, Devil's Spoke, sees running, rolling guitar and Marling's singing keeping pace whilst album highlight Blackberry Stone is much more gentle - you are lulled as you listen by the simple guitar, lamenting violins and her soft vocals.
Oxford indie band Foals' second album also saw them depart from their debut's style. Antidotes was filled with uncompromisingly stubborn math rock - barked vocals, odd time signatures and jerking, awkward guitar. Total Life Forever, on the other hand, is an ambient, aquatic, synthesised masterpiece that even sees lead singer Yannis move into the unexplored realms of gentle melody and falsetto.
First single, This Orient, is an uplifting, emotional web of carefully arranged sounds - multiple voices, synths, guitar, bass and drums all combine to create a beautiful end product. The rise and fall found in This Orient is characteristic of the album - the band have created a perfect mix of gentle and loud music, and they masterfully transfer between the two. Spanish Sahara is an escalating riot of the sound and singing that builds from near silence, Alabaster is an almost perfect synergy between vocals and instruments that creates a lamenting, uniquely structured song. Every song seems to have a natural, catchy beat and the hooks are far more accessible than those in Antidotes. They still retain a penchant for high, jerking guitar but it is rendered so much more subtly. Total Life Forever is my album of the year so far - buy it if you can and see them live if you can.
The XX, who won the award, are the hipster band of the moment. Famous for their incredibly stylised, minimalistic approach to music, their debut album XX received critical acclaim. Now I don't intend to oppose all those critics who think the album is quality, because it is. They take a refreshingly different approach to music, and both Oilver and Romy have incredible voices. Single Crystalised is a work of art, and the two vocalists always combine perfectly both live and on recording. However, I feel that the other two albums I have talked about are better. The minimalistic style of The XX is not condusive to putting great emotion into their songs, and this can lead to a sterility in their music. Furthermore, the lack of variation in the album let it down. Intro, possibly the best song on XX, is a faster piece - the exception in an otherwise slow album.
I'm not trying to take anything away from The XX, because the album is great(especially for a debut) and in a way they do deserve recognition for their acheivements. However, like Nihal stated on the Mercury Prize show, I feel there's better stuff to come from them.
Top Songs:
Foals: Alabaster, This Orient, 2 Trees, Spanish Sahara
Laura Marling: Devil's Spoke, Blackberry Stone, Made in Maid, I Speak Because I Can
The XX: Crsytalised, Islands, Infinity
