The Choice Music Prize has become one of the highlights of the Irish musical calendar since its inception in 2005 and is awarded to the Irish Album of the Year, as chosen from a shortlist of ten releases by a panel of twelve Irish music media professionals and industry experts.

Acts featured in Musos’ Guide who are nominated include; Cult Called Man, Eileen Gogan, I Have A Tribe, King Kong Company, Land Lovers, MINDRIOTmt, Mongrel State, Roisin Murphy, and Super Hyper Giant. Past winners include SOAK, Two Door Cinema Club, The Gloaming, Delorentos, The Divine Comedy, Villagers and Jape.

The winning act will receive €10,000, a prize fund which has been provided by The Irish Music Rights Organisation and The Irish Recorded Music Association. All of the shortlisted acts will receive a specially commissioned award. The shortlist for this year’s RTÉ Choice Music Prize, Irish Album of the Year 2016, in association with IMRO & IRMA, will be announced on Wednesday 11th January, 2017.

The 12th annual RTÉ Choice Music Prize will be awarded on March 9th with coverage on RTE. Tickets for the Choice Music Prize live event will go on sale from Ticketmaster on Friday December 2nd priced €26.50 including booking fee.

The full longlist is available here

MindriotMT are four hard rocking lads from Mitchelstown, County Cork. More correctly, they are four men from Mitchelstown. They have been playing together since 1992 and have finally gotten around to releasing a full-length record.

Brothers is as slick and professional as you would expect from a seasoned group. The production is high quality with a heft of dirty guitar and nice fat bass. Four of the songs were released last year as an EP but the record coheres well.

MindriotMT specialise in post-grunge Americana. It's straight up hard rock with no mixer. There are shades of Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer, and even at times the sound veers dangerously close to Nickelback and Staind. Their formation in the '90s crucible really comes through. There's a real '90s vibe off the album at a time when the nostalgia for that period is strong. If you'd heard Brothers in 1996, it would have sounded apposite and sat comfortably with Silverchair and Moist. 20 years from its natural environment Brothers sounds retro and dated like classic rock radio.

Brothers is replete with some very handy drop-D grooves and stirring leads. When they get heavy like on 'Boyz Of The Tomahawk' it sounds great. MindriotMT have a ton of riffs that will rip your face off and aren't afraid to use them. 'Fire' leads off with some funk rock wah guitar and slap bass and 'My Alibi' blends Beatles melodies and harmonies seamlessly into their hard rock template. While 'Summer Breeze' genuinely makes me pine for the Summer of '96.

24 years is a long build up to a first album and MindriotMT have formed a tight unit in that time. They have proven that they have the chops to pull off a creditable debut. If they can shake off their influences and find their own individual voice then you get the feeling that they have much more to offer and Brothers could be a launchpad to a long recording career for them. Hopefully it won't be another two decades before we hear the next one.

Brothers may become available on bandcamp.