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The Mercury Prize 2014 is but hours away and already speculation is rife as to who should win. Bar the opinion of a ridiculous Telegraph article pondering the absence of Ed Sheeran and Charli XCX, music fans across the land have wildly varying opinions as to what should secure the prize. Rightfully so seeing as this year has perhaps some of the most divisive and interesting propositions in a long time...
We thought it'd be interesting to hear which records the Gigwise writers want to win and why. Although we're wishing good luck to each of the candidates this evening, these are our selections and stand out releases of the year, betting odds and stats be damned.
Why Jungle should win by staff writer @alexjpollard
The modern soul-funk collective who were, for about five minutes, banded around as 'the UK's most mysterious act', did themselves a favour when they ditched the anonymous gimmick and allowed their music to take the spotlight. Jungle's self-titled debut is a rich, infectious and buoyant record, with sparse but intelligent lyrics sung in luscious falsetto. Curve-balls like the Wild Western whistlings of 'Smoking Pixels' defy any accusations of sameness, while album closer 'Lemonade Lake' makes you want to dance and cry at the same time.
Why Young Fathers should win by video editor @eddiehenryjames
DEAD by Young Fathers is an album that grabs hold of you and refuses to let go, drawing you in with a dischordant humming that hides subtle moments of beauty. It opens up to the listener more and more as it is listened to, telling a story both through composition and words. Being as multicultural as it is multi-genre, it is also quintessentially British, only adding to its charms. If the Mercury Prize is what it professes to be, then this should win hands down: it pushes things forward in a way audiences won't be aware of until years to come.
Why FKA Twigs should win by editor @iamandymorris
Not content with being the most elaborate Halloween costume on the Mercury list, FKA Twigs has without doubt produced one of the most sonically adventurous albums of the year. From her Dazed & Confused cover onwards, she’s been surprising and delighting in equal measure - and even made Google Glass look good. It would be very easy to dismiss her as a hipster choice, something purely for the Beatport and Pitchfork crowd: but the fact is hearing the bold stuttering rhythms of ‘Two Weeks’ on daytime radio is an absolute joy. Need further convincing? She’s an artist unafraid of speaking her mind - when asked by Gigwise who should be on the Mercury list she picked the long dead Poly Styrene from X-Ray Spex.
Why Anna Calvi should win by Deputy Editor @andrewtrendell
Calvi's debut was not only the finest album of 2011, but more than worthy of Mercury gold. Now, with One Breath, she has upped her game furthermore. She's a Kohl-eyed, red-lipped, guitar demon and destined for icon status - not least for her piercing stage presence, but her flawless texture of sounds that wonder between an intimate whisper and a widescreen Morricone landscape. Everyone else on this last is painted in to one corner of the Zeitgeist or another, and that's great - that's what the Mercurys are for. But what Calvi does is so out of step with everything else, it's in a class of its own and utterly utterly timeless. To be so literally outstanding is worthy of the prize.
