'The Mercury is such a big deal'

There's Irish interest on this year's Mercury Music Prize shortlist – BRIAN BOYDtalks to Villagers' Conor O'Brien and checks out the rest of the nominees

CONOR O’BRIEN has been carrying a very big secret that he couldn’t tell anyone for the last week. Because he performed at yesterday’s Mercury Music Prize announcement at the Hospital Club in London’s Covent Garden, he had to be told last week about his nomination, but was warned that if news leaked out there would be “consequences”.

“It’s been awful keeping it quiet but to be honest I’ve been so busy over the last while it just became another thing to do,” says the 27-year-old from Dún Laoghaire. “It was weird playing at the announcement yesterday – it was just me and Corrine Bailey Rae asked to do it – and a bit nerve-wracking too because the Mercury’s such a big deal. I had to walk around the press circle after performing and talk to loads of people and answer loads of questions. I’m supposed to be in Vancouver now – getting ready for some solo Canadian shows – but we had to rejig everything when the news came in last week.”

It’s been an eventful year for the Dubliner who used to be in The Immediate and now records as Villagers. There was a very well received Later With Jools Holland TV appearance, followed by heaps of critical acclaim for his debut release, Becoming A Jackal in mid-May. To date, it has sold about 15,000 copies.

The Mercury prize – awarded to the best British/Irish album of the past 12 months – is viewed as the music equivalent to The Booker Prize in that it ignores commercial sales and media profile and instead rewards artistic merit. The shortlist is drawn up by a large panel of judges from the music world. The overall winner – to be announced at a live ceremony on September 7th – wins a cash prize of £20,000.

A nomination in itself is enough for an act to reach a far-wider audience given the high media profile of the award. Following the typical Mercury pattern, few of this year’s nominated albums have been commercial hits and, as always, there are some alarming omissions. However, while many did expect a Gorillaz nomination, they long ago decided not to put their albums forward for consideration by the Mercury panel, describing the award as “like carrying a dead albatross round your neck for eternity”.

1 The xx

xx

The London indie scenesters have had praise heaped on them for their short, sharp shock of an album. They are the current indie band du jour but have managed to broaden their fan base without dissolving into the mainstream.

Odds:

Outright bookies’ favourite to win this year with odds of 2/1 (with Paddy Power)

2 Wild Beasts

Two Dancers

From the Lake District and specialising in a type of baroque/dream pop, there’s a real “nu-shoe gazing” appeal to their ambitious sounds.

Odds:

6/1

3 Mumford & Sons

Sigh No More

Folk-rock is the big noise now in chart sales and this London-based band are in the vanguard. A beefed-up acoustic sound with irresistible melodies, Mumford and Sons have already had a top 10 chart placing with this - as well as two big hit singles. Ultimately though, one fears it’s too commercial for the Mercury panel.

Odds:

9/2

4 Foals

Total Life Forever

A five-piece “Maths Rock” band from Oxford. The “Maths Rock” label signifies their rhythmically complex experimental rock sound. Cerebral in tone and stunningly executed, it’s perhaps too much of an epic sprawl for some.

Odds: 8/1

5 Laura Marling

I Speak Because I Can

Also nominated in 2008, Marling - the 21-year-old folk singer- songwriter from Hampshire is renowned for the lyricism of her work and the heightened emotion of her approach.

Odds: 10/1

6 Corrine Bailey

Rae The Sea

The soul singer from Leeds wrote this album following the tragic early death of her husband. Artfully melding jazz, soul and rock, it’s a powerfully expressive work.

Odds

: 8/1

7 I Am Kloot

Sky At Night

It’s taken until this, their fifth album, for the Manchester alt-rock band to get the nomination they should have got many years ago. Produced by Elbow’s Guy Garvey, it’s a broody affair which slowly unveils its manifold charms.

Odds

: 14/1

8 Paul Weller

Wake Up The Nation

There was no Mercury Music Prize when The Jam were at their brilliant best and Weller’s subsequent solo career has been inconsistent, but on this album he’s produced a sturdy collection of rhythm and blues wonders (in the old sense of the term).

Odds

: 14/1

9 Dizzee Rascal

Tongue N’ Cheek

Dylan Mills (as he’s known to his family) stunned everyone when as an 18-year-old he won the 2003 Mercury Music Prize for his Boy In Da Corner album. He’s since crossed over somewhat in the mainstream and is not afraid to replace his early “grime” sound with chart-friendly pop music.

Odds

: 14/1

10 Kit Downes Trio

Golden

Many will see this nomination as this year’s “Token Jazz” offering. From Norwich, Downes, a jazz pianist, is an ex-winner of a BBC Jazz Award and is virtually unknown outside of the jazz world.

Odds

: 20/1

11 Biffy Clyro

Only Revolutions

It’s been a slow-burn build for this three-piece Ayrshire rock band. Ditching their slightly prog rock sound for a more stadium-friendly one, this is still a surprise nomination for the hard-working, no-nonsense rockers.

Odds

: 20/1

12 Villagers

Becoming A Jackal

It was hoped for and even expected in certain quarters but this is still a real breakthrough for Dubliner Conor O’Brien. “Depth, sincerity and beauty in abundance” wrote the NME - getting it right for once. The bookie’s odds here suggest he has a half-decent chance of winning the award.

Odds

: 8/1