M.I.A, Mystery Jets and Foals among acts nominated for Drowned In Sound’s Pluto Prize

Readers of a certain vintage might remember the days when NME’s Brat Awards ran as a boozy, rambunctious alternative to the corporate Brit Awards. I’m not sure if NME still uses the “Brat” brand for their awards these days, which goes some way to showing how much more generic the event has become.
There are plenty of websites willing to snare the indie youth NME once had sole claim on, though - Drowned In Sound have been doing just that for a few years now. In true anti-corporate rock style they’ve just announced the nominees for their Pluto Award, which is acting as an alternative for - can you guess? - The Mercury Music Prize.

No sponsors for this prize of course, and their not even sure what the prize is as yet, because they’re just so laidback like that. At any rate the prize is voted for entirely by readers, so there are no shady industry panels involved.
You’ll need to be a member of the DiS community to vote, and you can find out the winner the same day as the Mercury Music Prize decision is announced - September 9th.
See the shortlist and cast your vote at Drowned In Sound