Elbow named critics' album of year
Elbow rounded off a breakthrough year today with their album topping an annual “poll of polls” list.
Their Nationwide Mercury Prize-winning record 'The Seldom Seen Kid' came out top in the eighth such chart, which combines the choices of critics.
The HMV Poll of Polls is collated each December, adding up album of the year nominations from music writers across specialist press, national media and online sites.
HMV staff also vote, as do customers on HMV’s social network site getcloser.com.
The top 50 list is headed by the music writers’ overall choice of album of the year.
Previous winners include Daft Punk, OutKast, Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem.
'The Seldom Seen Kid' pulled the most nominations across 35 publications, sites and organisations polled.
Elbow’s triumph followed a close run with Portishead’s long-awaited comeback album 'Third'.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ 'Dig Lazarus, Dig' was third, while debuts from Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weekend completed the top five.
HMV’s Rock & Pop Buyer, Damian Evans said: “The poll reflects an excellent, eclectic year in music with some exciting new artists featuring prominently.
“Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend, MGMT and Bon Iver have really made their mark with wonderful debut albums, underlining how vibrant the music scene is right now.
“Established artists such as Portishead, Nick Cave and Metallica have also returned to great acclaim, although I suspect few people would dispute that Elbow have given us the album of the year.
“They were popular winners of the Nationwide Mercury Prize, and they now deservedly top the HMV Poll of Polls as well.”
This year’s poll also showed big hitters like Coldplay and Oasis at 34 and 39 respectively, while Killers were at 48.
Duffy, whose Rockferry album has been the year’s runaway biggest seller, with 1.5 million copies sold according to Official Charts company data, sat way down the poll at number 28.
Here are top 10 artists and albums in HMV’s Poll of Polls:
1. Elbow/'The Seldom Seen Kid'
After an 18-year career, the Nationwide Mercury award winners went from strength to strength. The band’s album gained nominations from music magazines and national press alike, including number ones in 'The Fly', 'News Of The World' and 'Time Out'.
2. Portishead/'Third'
Their first studio album in 11 years gained widespread acclaim. It was Uncut’s album of the year, and featured in the top 20 of Mojo, Mixmag and the Guardian.
3. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds/'Dig Lazarus, Dig'
The album had seven top 10 placings in the poll, including Mojo, Uncut and The Sun’s Something For The Weekend, while the album also scored highly with HMV customers using getcloser.com.
4. Fleet Foxes/'Fleet Foxes'
The Seattle five-piece’s talked about debut album was a particular favourite across the specialist magazines – Mojo’s album of the year, and number two in Uncut and Q.
5. Vampire Weekend/'Vampire Weekend'
Another New York band, along with TV On The Radio and MGMT, to feature prominently in the critics’ choices this year.
The eclectic record featured in the top five polls from the NME, Q and Uncut.
6. TV On The Radio/'Dear Science'
Their third full-length studio album boosted the band’s profile. One of the later releases of the year, excellent reviews ensured this was the band’s most successful album to date. It was number one in The Guardian, number two in the NME and number three in Uncut.
7. MGMT/'Oracular Spectacular'
Produced by Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev) and featuring the single 'Time To Pretend', the New Yorkers’ debut was the NME’s album of the year.
8. Bon Iver/'For Emma Forever Ago'
The word-of-mouth success, building on the live reputation from the soulful singer/songwriter, was number one with the Observer Music Monthly and Piccadilly Records and Rough Trade online sites, and also top five in Uncut and Mojo.
9. Glasvegas/'Glasvegas'
One of the most anticipated debuts of recent years, the Glaswegian foursome have drawn comparisons to The Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. The album had several top 10 nominations, including from Mojo, NME and Q.
10. Hot Chip/'Made In The Dark'
Building on the success of their last album Warning, this release from February was an early contender for album of the year, according to HMV, and featured prominently in the dance press, as Mixmag and IDJ’s number one, as well as finishing top 20 in the likes of Q and Uncut.
