It’s rare that any music awards are worth more than a second’s thought. Someone mentioned the PLUG awards to me recently, however, and they do seem to offer something more than the usual back-slapping, usual-suspects non-events. Here’s how I voted:

Album of the year: Beirut – Gulag Orkestar (Ba Da Bing)
New artist of the year: Beirut
Female artist of the year: Juana Molina
Male artist of the year: M Ward
Indie rock album of the year: Belle & Sebastian – The Life Pursuit (Matador)
Americana album of the year: M Ward – Post-War (Merge)
Electronic/dance album of the year: Hot Chip – The Warning (Astralwerks)
Avant album of the year: Liars – Drum’s Not Dead (Mute)

Metal, punk, DJ and hip-hop albums skipped out as those aren’t my specialist areas.

How would you vote?