Fuck me, what a year? I mean, the world has gone batshit crazy hasn’t it? On the plus side LWM cruised past the half a million visitors mark and our only writer (Monger himself) managed to beat the odds and not die from cancer despite having a large number of internal organs removed.
Nevertheless, there are still two unifying aspects of life; firstly, we
all want to ram an entire loaf of banana bread down Donald Trump’s throat and,
secondly, music has kept us on just the right side of sanity. So, as I do every
year, I’m going to play God (a benevolent God, of course) and pick my favourites
of the year. However, before I do that, I’ve whittled it down to a list, a
short list if you will, of contenders.
Winners will be announced on 20th December 2020
Best Band (UK) 2020 Shortlist
 |
| Ferris & Sylvester |
Lack of Afro
Ferris & Sylvester
The Hempolics
The Blinders
Erotic Secrets of Pompeii
Tankus The Henge
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – Dinosaur Pile-Up
2018 Winner – Black Futures
2017 Winner - Rews
2016 Winner – Narcs / Berries
2015 Winner - Allusondrugs
~~~
Best Band (South West) 2020 Shortlist 
Brother Sea
Moriaty
50 Year Storm
The Viewers
Brother Sea
Brother & Bones
Anitmatador
Tourists
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – Pattern Pusher
2018 Winner – The Velvet Hands
2017 Winner – The Malthusian Trap
2016 Winner – Wildwood Kin
2015 Winner – Lost Dawn / Sound of the Sirens
~~~
Best Band (International) 2020 Shortlist 
MFC Chicken
Incubus
Bee Bee Sea
Larkin Poe
MFC Chicken
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – Fontaines D.C.
(Republic of Ireland)
2018 Winner – The Nectars (USA)
2017 Winner – Parekh & Singh (India)
2016 Winner – The Watanabes
(Japan)
2015 Winner – Failure Machine
(USA)
Best Solo Male (UK) 2020 Shortlist
 |
| Roo Panes |
Riaz Ahmad
Samuel Jack
Inder Paul Sandhu
Roo Panes
Jake Bugg
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – Xam Volo
2018 Winner – Joshua Kyeot
2017 Winner – Jamie Lenman
2016 Winner – Jake Morley
2015 Winner – Cosmo Sheldrake
~~~
Best Solo Male (South West) 2020 Shortlist
 |
| Jamie Yost |
Ollie Dixon
Jamie Yost
Paul Armer
Daniel Steer
Adam Sweet
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – Samantics
2018 Winner – Matthew Gordon
Price
2017 Winner – Gozer Goodspeed/Martyn
Crocker
~~~
Best Solo Male (International) 2020 Shortlist
 |
| Tafari Anthony |
Ben Harper
Theboyfromthesouth
Wayley
Kennebec
Jacknife Lee
Tafari Anthony
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – Duckwrth (USA)
2018 Winner – Simon Lynge
(Greenland)
2017 Winner – Noah Gundersen
(USA)
~~~
Best Solo Female (UK) 2020 Shortlist
 |
| Amaroun |
Sophie Morgan
Amaroun
Tina Boonstra
Tally Spear
Madam So
thisisNAMASTE
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – Lauran Hibberd
2018 Winner – Pip Hall
2017 Winner – Poppy Ackroyd
2016 Winner – Joanna Cooke / Lulu
James
2015 Winner – Malka
Best Solo Female (South West) 2020 Shortlist
 |
| Bailey Tomkinson |
Sadie Horler
Luce Aggett
Bailey Tomkinson
Maisy Grace
Yazzy
Previous
Winners
2019
Winner – Rise
2018
Winner – Joanna Cooke
2017 Winner – Rosie the Crow
Best Solo Female (International) 2020 Shortlist
 |
| Jaguar Jonze |
Madison Beer
Nana Adjoa
Sarah Klang
DYLYN
Jaguar Jonze
Asthmatic Harp
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – Tami Neilson
(Canada/Australia)/Mavis Staples (USA)
2018 Winner – Grace Inspace (USA)
Best Single 2020 Shortlist
 |
| Jones |
Samuel Jack ‘Gonna Be Alright’
Brother Sea ‘September’
Phantom Isle ‘MAR V’
Jones ‘Giving It Up’
Sami Nathan ‘Beautiful Outside’
Creeping Jean ‘Stuck In My Ear’
Tina Boonstra ‘Out of my Depth’
The Clockworks 'Enough is Never Enough'
Jake Bugg ‘All I Need’
Burning Pools ‘Woman’
Previous
Winners
2019
Winner – Ferris & Sylvester ‘I Dare You’ / Bicuruious ‘I Don’t Do Drugs, I
Just Sweat A Lot’
2018
Winner – X Ambassadors ‘Joyful’
2017 Winner – She Makes War ‘I
Want My Country Back’ / Moses ‘King Size’
2016 Winner – Mowbeck ‘Vaseline’
/ Childcare ‘Cinema Club’
2015 Winner – Azu Yeche ‘Lagos’
Best EP 2020 Shortlist
 |
| Those Fucking Snowflakes |
Riaz Ahmad 'All At Sea'
Ferris & Sylvester ‘I Should Be On A Train’
Tina Boonstra 'City of Doubt'
Elkyn ‘Beech’
Those Fucking Snowflakes ‘Straight Wealthy White Male Suffrage’
Asthmatic Harp ‘Things We Learned to Live With’
Inder Paul Sandhu ‘The Colindale Tape’
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – Sick Joy ‘Them Days
EP’
2018 Winner – Jones ‘New York EP’
2017 Winner – Mux ‘Can You See
Who? EP’
2016 Winner – Joanna Cooke ‘Wound
Up EP’ / Bare Hunter ‘Dry Rot EP’
Best Album 2020 Shortlist
 |
| The Allergies |
Haunt the Woods ‘Opaque’
Moriaty 'The Die Is Cast'
Lack of Afro ‘I’m Here Now’
Nana Adjoa 'Big Dreaming Ants'
The Allergies ‘Say the Word’
Larkin Poe ‘Self Made Man’
MFC Chicken ‘Fast Food & Broken Hearts’
Tankus the Henge ‘Luna Park’
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – William the
Conqueror ‘Bleeding on the Soundtrack’ / X Ambassadors ‘Orion’
2018 Winner – The Nectars ‘Sci-Fi
Television’ / Henge ‘Attention! Earth’
2017 Winner – Noah Gundersen
‘White Noise’ / Rews ‘Pyro’
2016 Winner – Narcs ‘A Thinking
Animal’ / Jake Morley ‘The Manual
2015 Winner – Lost Dawn / Malka
Best Video 2020 Shortlist
 |
| Todrick Hall |
Percy ‘Will of the People’
Todrick Hall ‘Mask, Gloves, Soap, Scrubs’
Spang Sisters 'Eddie Murphy'
Sunny Bones ‘Be Cool’
The Clockworks ‘Enough Is Never Enough’
Kacy & Clayton and Marlon Williams ‘Your Mind’s Walking Out’
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – Penguin Café
‘Chapter’
2018 Winner – Calva Louise ‘Tug
of War’ / LibraLibra ‘Tongues’
2017 Winner – Vei ‘Rolling on You
Romeo’
2016 Winner – Michelle O Faith
‘Lemonade’
2015 Winner – Husky ‘I’m Not
Coming Back’
Best Debut 2020 Shortlist
 |
| Kamina |
Nana Adjoa
Kamina
Wayley
Dew Barf
Selke
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – Gazel ‘Gazel’s Book
of Souls’
2018 Winner – Georgia Fearn
‘Perfect on Paper’
2017 Winner – Black Futures
‘Karma, Ya Dig?’
2016 Winner – Berries ‘Siren’
2015 Winner – Vanessa Forero
‘Heaven Knows’
Best Year 2020 Shortlist
 |
| Yazzy |
Moriaty
Yazzy
Tina Boonstra
Tourists
Nana Adjoa
Lack of Afro
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – Deux Furiesues
2018 Winner - Idles
2017 Winner - Cassels
2016 Winner – Wildwood Kin
Best Band Name 2020 Shortlist
 |
| Gaffa Tape Sandy |
Gaffa Tape Sandy
Catholic Action
Bony Macaroni
Death by Unga Bunga
Dew Barf
Kingdumb
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – Those Fucking
Snowflakes
2018 Winner – Have You Ever Seen
the Jane Fonda Aerobic VHS?
2017 Winner – Playboy Manbaby
2016 Winner – Yes Babez! / Taco
Hell / Queen of Jeans
2015 Winner – Get Inuit /
Rangleklods
~~~
Best PR 2020 Shortlist
Sonic PR
Wall of Sound PR
Big Mouth Publicity
DediKATEd PR
Supercat PR
Previous Winners
2019 Winner – Prescription PR
2018 Winner – Fine Company
2017 Winner – Cannonball PR
2016 Winner – Wilful Publicity
2015 Winner – Hannah Gould Music PR
Best Label 2020 Shortlist
Sony Music
Xtra Mile Recordings
Creation 23
Modern Sky
Alcopop!
Previous Winners
2019 Winners – Say Something
Records
2018 Winner – Integrity Records
2017 Winner – Cooking Vinyl
2016 Winner – Superfan 99
2015 Winner – Clue Records
~~~
Best Live Show 2020 Winner
Wille Edwards + Andy Quick, Downderry Village Hall
2019 Winner – Shihad @ the
Thekla, Bristol
2018 Winner – Looe Saves the Day
Festival, Looe
2017 Winner – Wildwood Kin @ The
Brook Inn, Plymouth
2016 Winner – Blogtober 2016
feat. Berries / Pattern Pusher / Seaker / Jamie Yost / Rosa Belle
2015 Winner – Tankus the Henge @
Looe Music Festival