Token Two - Lau is wow

○○○○○

WITH the Mercury Music nominated albums due next week, I figured the time is nigh to finally blog about some albums already out there that could sneak onto the shortlist

Every year the Mercury's 12 picks invariably include token albums from the worlds of folk and jazz - last year for example saw nominations for Rachel Unthank And The Winterset's The Bairns and Portico Quartet LP Knee-Deep In The North Sea.

For 2009, from the world of folk I'm tipping Jim Moray, whose album Low Culture came out last year and is my Token One, and Manchester trio Lau.

The group, who brought their fabled live skills to Loughborough Town Hall just over a week ago, are surely in with a shot.

Their current album, Arc Light, is a glorious slice of 21st Century folk music - which welds together trad warmth, sizzling musicianship and irrepressible rhythm.

In folk terms, Lau is now.