Choice: Win Top 10 Irish Albums of 2007
Irish Unsigned have a competition where you can win all 10 nominees for the Choice Music Prize which takes place tonight.
UPDATE: As stunningly predicted by myself below, Super Extra Bonus Party were chosen as the winners. (via Kilkenny Music)
UPDATE EILE: Some fascinating reactions over on Sinead’s blog, in the post and the comments.
It’s a simple, free, forecast the winner, thing.
I like what IrishUnsigned do, so if you happen not to be familiar with any of the nominees, I’ve dug up the MySpace links for you to go and have a listen to.
And then all you have to do to enter is send your email.
The nominees, the 10 best Irish albums of 2007 as chosen by critics, are:
Adrian Crowley - Long Distance Swimmer (MySpace)
Cathy Davey - Tales Of Silversleeve (MySpace)
Delorentos - In Love With Detail (MySpace)
Dry County - Unexpected Falls (MySpace)
The Flaws - Achieving Vagueness (MySpace)
David Geraghty - Kill Your Darlings (MySpace)
Kila - Gambler’s Ballet (MySpace)
Roisin Murphy - Overpowered (MySpace)
Stanley Super 800 - Louder & Clearer (MySpace)
Super Extra Bonus Party - Super Extra Bonus Party (MySpace)
To have a chance of winning you need to pick who the judges will choose as the overall winner.
To enter, send an email to competition@irishunsigned.com with your answer IN THE SUBJECT LINE OF THE EMAIL, before 7pm Irish time on Wednesday February 27th, 2008. The body of the email should contain your name and address.
Cathy Davey is the strong favourite, and while I like her a lot she just doesn’t take me anywhere that Throwing Muses, Belly or The Breeders didn’t quite some time ago. And that’s not exactly a criticism.
David Geraghty’s star is rising but I think it’s too early for him, and everybody likes Delorentos but not enough I feel though maybe they could be the common ground if the judges can’t agree on other choices.
Adrian Crowley has to be a strong contender - he is Sinead’s choice, and she was a judge last yeat I think. I’ve already entered the competition with my choice of Super Extra Bonus Party.
Beyond that I think Kila could well be a good outside bet - weren’t we all surprised last year when the grand old statesman that is The Divine Comedy won?
Tonight at 7pm (1pm in Central Time in the US) you can listen live online to Pet Sounds on Today FM to hear the 10 nominated Acts performing at Vicar Street, as well as the announcement of the overall winner. (Update: The winner is Super Extra Bonus Party)
There’s more on the nominees at the official site for the Choice Music Prize
Irish Unsigned
IrishUnsigned is a cross-genre, nationwide showcase and advisory/educational resource for all new or unsigned Irish acts, whatever they play, from Fenders to Fiddles. We don’t deem it to be relevant whether these acts want to get signed or whether they intend to go about their music in a DIY or even anti-industry manner. IrishUnsigned will help to develop and promote an already vibrant Irish music scene at grass roots level whether it be for the benefit of the bands, the buying and gig-going public or the industry itself.
Visit the website of Irish Unsigned HERE
Eolaí gan Fhéile:
Eolai, I was indeed a judge last year and I loved it, even though I felt like I’d aged 10 years after two and a half hours of debating with my fellow judges.
Someone said to me last week that Kila could get it in a “lifetime achievement” sort of way, but Gambler’s Ballet is not their strongest album by a long stretch, and the prize is very strict about being awarded for a specific album.
Fair point on Cathy, she has a very strong chance of winning.
Roll on 10.45pm!
That’s a good point on Kila - I was really being sentimental when I think about it.
Oh, and good luck on Saturday. I might see ya there - my other baby is somehow up against you.
Haven’t heard of Uper Extra - I’m curious. Don’t get The Breeders, Throwing Muses comparison at all I have to say, for me they’re way more rocky - Belly a little bit but I’d still put it in a different league. I think Cathy’s is a truly brilliant album - I’d doubt very much if there really was a better Irish one last year - Different Strokes though….
Conortje - SEBP are quite varied. Listening to just a couple of tracks could give you the wrong indication of what kind of band they are.
I do like Cathy Davy a lot, especially this album - and would have had no problem with it winning. It’s not that she’s the same as the aforementioned (we all know she’s really the same as Elvis’ Marie’s The Name
) but that the others did for me what she does - and more. The more would include the rockier stuff. The similarities for me are mostly in the arrangements.
It’s only an award of course. In truth you’ll find way better trad stuff than this Kila album, and some other great rock albums not even nominated. But overall it was a strong list, and while I think the winner was a strong candidate, I would have thought the same of half the nominees.