Much to my chagrin, I was forced to miss Polly Jean's performance at last weekend's Electric Picnic proceedings. Disappointment was eased somewhat on Tuesday, when it was announced that she had won the Mercury Music Prize for the aforementioned, and brilliant, Let England Shake, released in February of this year.
She is the only artist to date to have been awarded the prize on two separate occasions, having also won in 2001 for Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea.
In the interim since its release, I've come to love Written on the Forehead maybe most of all. Part prayer, part prophecy, this haunting incantation makes for completely compulsive listening.
