Get speculating... Barclaycard Mercury Prize 2014: Who’s getting nominated?

Released: 14th July 2014 on XL Recordings.
Chances: Given Jungle’s astonishing ascent, a Mercury Prize victory isn’t totally off the cards. This time last year they’d barely recovered from putting out a debut track; the head-turning, breakdancing ‘Platoon’. Their first work is undeniably calculated in its routine of chugging out funk-spliced pop that never outstays its welcome, but it works. Even quieter moments, like ‘Lucky I Got What I Want’, benefit from a deft touch. It’s a record that’s still gaining momentum, too. It went top 10 in the UK album chart, and it’s provided a simple but effective soundtrack at Glastonbury, Latitude and - later this month - Reading & Leeds. On the flipside, there probably isn’t enough variety or boundary-pushing across these twelve tracks to warrant a win alone. Despite this, the sheer level of thought that’s gone into the Jungle ethos and process - from pricey bomber jackets to fancy videos - might push them over the line. (Jamie Milton)
Bookies odds: 6/1
In a nutshell: A worthy winner.

Released: 13th January 2014 on Stolen Recordings.
Chances: William Doyle’s first work arrived at the perfect time. A post-Christmas dearth of records meant that anybody with licence to hear his record did - and with intent and a strange, post-NYE clarity that seems to benefit records coming out at the beginning of any year. ‘Total Strife Forever’ isn’t the kind of debut to get drowned out in peak release time, mind you - this is a brilliantly diverse, brave electronic first step. “All of Doyle’s ideas seem fully formed and meld together perfectly, which given the ground they cover is quite the achievement,” said DIY’s Tim Lee. “Innovative, cerebral and yet totally accessible, ‘Total Strife Forever’ is an incredibly impressive record.” (JM)
Bookies odds: 10/1
In a nutshell: He might not make it with his debut, but he’s first choice for a niche crowd.

Released: 19th May 2014 on Big Dada.
Chances: Bookies’ favourite Kate Tempest is best known as an award-winning poet. She’d probably call herself a rapper. Aged 16, Kate Tempest was often that person that always seems to crop up on the N343, the one who insists on performing impromptu freestyles for the top deck. The difference is that her stories of London life are worth listening to. Spinning a narrative around the lives of Becky and Pete – two people falling in love while working ramshackle jobs to survive in the capital – Tempest’s ‘Everybody Down’ resonates with the current climate of anti-homeless spikes, falling wages, and ridiculously high living costs. It’s a timely and politically charged record; a definite contender. (El Hunt)
Bookies Odds: 4/2
In A Nutshell: In tune with current politics, David Cameron probably won’t be placing any bets on Kate Tempest. The Mercury judges, though? It wouldn’t be a surprise if they backed her.

Released: 11th August 2014 on Young Turks.
Chances: FKA Twigs has already taken this year’s unofficial prize for visual wow-factor. She’s also responsible for one of the most hotly awaited albums of this year, ‘LP1’. Consistently experimental, occasionally sad and confounding, Twigs’ debut is a melting pot of ideas and asks as many questions as it provides answers. “There’s a strange sadness to twigs’ delivery,” observed DIY Online Editor Jamie Milton in his review. “It’s almost like she’s in possession of complete power and she doesn’t quite know where to place it.” (EH)
Bookies odds: 4/1
In A Nutshell: If they leaf FKA Twigs out of nominations, it’ll be a treevasty.

Released: 17th January 2014 on Rock Action Records.
Chances: Unbelievably, Mogwai have never before been nominated for a Mercury Prize, despite regularly being given nods by the SAY Award (Scottish Album of the Year). If they don’t pick up an inclusion this time round, they probably never will. ‘Rave Tapes’ is the band’s first to make the UK top 10, and it swiftly followed recent acclaim from an unlikely corner - obsessive watchers of The Returned aka Les Revenants. Don’t rule them out being this year’s Elbow, ie. a band with critics on their side but without the crowning glory. (JM)
Bookies odds: 33/1
In a nutshell: A more than sensible outside bet.

Released: 24th February 2014 on Domino.
Chances: This’ll probably spark some intense debate involving various spilled lattes, but ‘Present Tense’ is arguably - arguably - Wild Beasts’ best album yet. Their fourth release is an upping of the game in so many senses; Hayden Thorpe in particular appears more of a frontman than ever. DIY’s five star review didn’t hold back: “’Present Tense’ is Wild Beasts growing a new pair of fangs. Their most complete record by a serious stretch, it’s a work that laughs, cries, detests, adores and above anything else inspires.” Their previous album, ‘Smother’, didn’t pick up a nomination - a victory here would more than make up for that. (JM)
Bookies odds: 12/1
In a nutshell: A band reaching their brilliant peak - they deserve to win.

Released: 20th September 2014 on Glassnote.
Chances: They might’ve missed the chance to play the Commonwealth games closing ceremony alongside Lulu, but Chvrches are surely due a Mercury nod for their blinding debut. “As twelve equally matched moments of varied tone but consistent brilliance, it’s nothing short of exactly what was expected,” wrote DIY’s Editor Stephen Ackroyd, reviewing ‘The Bones of What You Believe’, “[and] the start of something even bigger.” (EH)
Odds: 16/1
In A Nutshell: Scotland’s Album of the Year Award might’ve overlooked Chvrches, but The Mercury Prize could well go to them instead.

Released: 25th April 2014 on Parlophone.
Chances: Damon’s solo debut didn’t just turn heads because of its timing, or because of the Richard Russell production stamp, or even because of its’ sad-man promo shots. It contains a melancholy-doused collection of songs that impress immediately and get even better on repeated listens. Albarn certainly doesn’t need the prize money, but this wouldn’t be ‘just another accolade’ for one of the most important songwriters of the past twenty years. (JM)
Bookies odds: 12/1
In a nutshell: His Gorillaz records were overlooked - this doesn’t look particularly likely either.

Released: 4th February on Big Dada.
Chances: They’ve already picked up one award this year - the SAY (Scottish Album of the Year) prize. That was for ‘Tape Two’, which technically fares as a mini-album/EP that came out in 2013. ‘Dead’ is one step onwards - a brutal, intentionally ugly and abrasive force that excels even further in a live environment. This isn’t a surefire bet for a nomination, even, but Young Fathers are the kind of act that’ll benefit from a post-nominee rush of attention, a series of ‘Who are they?’’s and intrigued first impressions. (JM)
Bookies odds: 20/1
In a nutshell: Not ‘Dead’ certs, by any means.

Released: 30th June 2014 on Columbia.
Chances: If there was a sub-category for most hilarious twitter presence, Geoff #Petan Ezra would already be a dead-cert. There’s not, but his debut album ‘Wanted On Voyage’ peaked at number 3 in the UK, and won widespread praise for its vintage folk influences, and of course, his unique voice. “George Ezra possesses a voice that seems to have aged with him like twenty-year-old bourbon, steeped in the soulful hops and grains of America’s deep Southern Blues,” wrote DIY’s El Hunt, adding; “Ezra could be singing his shopping list, and it would still sound charged with pure emotion.” (EH)
Bookies odds: 25/1
In A Nutshell: Thoughtful but immediate folk that’s already loved by the masses; a lot of people will be cheering George Ezra on.

Released: 10th March on Because Music.
Chances: A far cry from wearing light-up bulbs purchased from Poundland on their t-shirts, Metronomy are dapper, arena-ready giants, all of a sudden. It’s an odd match, given that ‘Love Letters’ is a fairly introverted, albeit romantic release. It lacks a ‘The Look’, but it makes up for that in serenading gestures. “Its lack of slickness and idiosyncrasies are where its charm lies. It’s an album which veers between 70s gospel and primitive electro and drum machines,” said Danny Wright in a four star review. (JM)
Bookies odds: 25/1
In a nutshell: Their most popular album yet - a surefire nominee, probably not a winner.

Released: 12th November, 2013 on Wichita / Turnstile

Chances: Welsh musician Cate Le Bon readily admits that she has an “abnormal fixation with death”, and ‘Mug Museum’ is an album that mixes spooky delivery with dark, twisted lyrical content and jarring melodies that manage to sound sunny and on knife edge at the same time. It’s a combination that DIY called “a bewitching mix,“ and “melancholy through a psych filter,“ when it came out in November last year. Le Bon’s strange duet with oft-discussed Perfume Genius might just place her back in the consciousness of the industry bigwigs doing the picking. (EH)
Bookies odds: 33/1
In A Nutshell: If this was the Grand National, ‘Mug Museum’ would be the unpredictable bet with a tendency to go it alone without a jockey. In other words, the Mercury’s dark horse.

Tags: Wild Beasts, Features