Young Fathers took home £20,000 Friday night when they won the 2014’s Mercury Prize for Album of the Year. They beat out fellow nominees Jungle, Royal Blood, FKA Twigs, and Damon Albarn in a competition that featured a one-song live performance from each participant. Young Fathers joins the ranks of previous winners like James Blake (2013), alt-J (2012), and the xx (2010). The Scottish trio’s album is Dead, a fantastically dark and vibrant album described on these pages as a “stark melting pot of genre infidelity.” Their acceptance speech was brief: “Thank you, thank you. We love you, we love you all, thank you.”
YOUNG FATHERS DOESN’T GIVE A F*CK ABOUT BEING COOL
The Barclaycard Mercury Prize honors the best Irish or British release of the last 12 months. FKA Twigs was an early favorite for the award this year. The decision is made by a panel of 12, comprised of various industry figures, critics, and DJs. Odds are placed, and anyone who bet on Young Fathers at 14-1 made off tidily. Here’s “War,” one of the many fine offerings off Dead.
