The Mercury Prize winner was announced on The One Show last night.

September: now six months since Bojo clamped down on all things fun and populated, and gig-less we remain. In half a year, no one has felt the bass of a speaker thud across their chest, nor begrudgingly sacrificed next month’s rent for a pint of ‘whatever’s cheapest’. Withdrawal symptoms settled in across the nation: better hearing, fewer crowd-induced bruises… nasty stuff, really. Thankfully, just before bucket hats began to see a new life as makeshift face coverings, we were gifted a taste of what once was.
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The Mercury Prize Album of the Year is an annual excuse for any British melomaniac to spend the night in with a few drinks, a few mates and quite literally some of the finest new music around. While watching the ceremony often risks major audience-envy as the crowd screams applause after each set, this year was significantly more personal to watch. Naturally, live performances were out of the question, but many of the shortlisted artists were able to deliver pre-recorded sets specifically for the BBC’s coverage of the event: an hour-long compilation of these performances, presented by Lauren Laverne and uploaded to iPlayer. Not a bad deal, all in all – in fact, many of the videos made it feel like I was standing at the front row of an actual gig, too engrossed by the musicians to notice anyone else around. It’s as close to a concert as I’m getting, anyway, so here are the highlights from The Mercury Prize 2020.

I was almost nervous to hear this new record. Sometimes, after months of teasing with studio clips and new singles, a long-awaited album can come off anticlimactic – as with pres and the club itself, the hype can feel better than the main event. It was stupid to think this could be the case for HAIM: it seems these sisters have a knack for consistently outdoing themselves.

On their third and most exceptional album yet, Women In Music Pt. III (dubbed wimpiii) sees HAIM delve even deeper into stark honesty and emotional vulnerability: ‘I Know Alone’, ‘Now I’m In It’ and ‘I’ve Been Down’ carry a similar theme of depression, while ‘Hallelujah’ depicts the grief of losing a childhood friend. Although their prior records have often portrayed HAIM’s emotions in a raw and candid manner, wimpiii sees the band truly open up through lyrics that cut true for musician and listener alike:‘Days get slow like counting cell towers on the road / I know alone and I don’t wanna talk about it’.
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The record takes time, too, to address wider issues such as sexism: ‘Man From The Magazine’ calls out the misogyny of the music industry, namely in the comments made towards female artists...

From the off-set, Krystal sees Matt Maltese settle even further into the piano bar melancholy we fell in love with in Bad Contestant. Early ivory twinkles give the illusion of a cheerful, happy-go-lucky performer, one likely to burst suddenly into a cane-aided tap routine, but the sombre themes beneath this rosy surface remain the same: heartache, nostalgia, more heartache.

While much of the album carries Matt’s distinctive hotel-lounge sound quite neatly, ‘Tokyo’ is a pleasantly Beatles-esque surprise. Ditching the keys instead for an acoustic guitar, the track follows a confused and loved-up narrator (familiar) through three minutes of pure, unadulterated amour. And though it may be significantly less complex than other titles on the album (take the opener, ‘Rom-Com Gone Wrong’), it shows a real range from our own English Romeo. Naturally, it’s immediately followed by a slow, sultry tale of unrequited love, deliciously reminiscent of his early years. Classic.

But while romantic undertones may be found across the Maltese board, that’s by no means to say he hasn’t steadily progressed from his acclaimed debut...

“Who even listens to guitar music anymore?” Dude, I hear you. After years of aggressively romantic twenty-somethings in white T-shirts, I was ready to throw in the towel on indie-rock. What more can these guys really do? Another Alex Turner wannabe? Lovely. Can we stick on BBC2 for a change?

It was getting a bit samey, as can be the nature of a genre if you only half-listen to what’s playing. But that’s not to say there aren’t a few remaining flowers in the muddy field of indie-rock: Glasgow-bred Declan Welsh has teamed up with The Decadent West to prove us all wrong. Their sound is varied, the music delicately composed; familiar, yes, but with just enough flare to set them apart. Put your synths away, sir, kindly pick up a Fender.

Gritty in parts, seductive in others, the band’s first album, Cheaply Bought, Expensively Sold, is a testament to the indie-rock we fell in love with before it all got too much. Sitting comfortably as the pendulum swings from upbeat to down-tempo, showcase anthem to bedroom overture, I’ll come right out and say it: it’s a joy to listen to...

August is upon us: summer has passed her prime; normality and routine loom just beyond the corner of our calendars. And just as we feel like the best of the season is over, Bon Iver graces us with something truly worth falling for.

Expectations were high for i,i, Bon Iver’s fourth album to-be, which was originally set for release at the end of this month. Instead, the group surprised us all across streaming platforms last Friday morning (9 August 2019), gradually dripping in each of the LP’s remaining tracks. Almost three years since their last album, i,i brings the project round in full circle, according to the band itself: “from the winter of For Emma, Forever Ago came the frenetic spring of Bon Iver, Bon Iver, and the unhinged summer of 22, A Million. Now, fall arrives early with i,i.”

What once began forever ago as the solo project of a heartbroken Justin Vernon has since evolved into one of the most exquisite collaborative works around – a progression which is almost palpable. Without ever overdoing it, the production on i,i is simply formidable; breaking even further away from the raw, folksy sound of For Emma, Forever Ago, Vernon & co. opt instead for a fuller, more layered composition...

"I grew up with old-school Disney Channel but sadly, my generation was the last to bask in its final golden years. Kids today will never know the frantic run downstairs to the TV as the theme song started: the beat, the guitar, the limo out front. If Hannah Montana was the Queen of after-school telly, my brother and I were her peasant followers, watching in awe.

​But now a decade has passed and the wig is off - Miley Cyrus is back again. Long gone are the preteen bops, mini-album SHE IS COMING, is a whole frickin' mood..."