Glasgow bands Franz Ferdinand, Mogwai and Pronto Mama are in the running to win the prestigious Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award.

The trio were announced as part of this year’s 20 Longlisted albums, voted for by a panel of 100 expert nominators.

The top twenty were announced at the Longlist event at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut on Wednesday night.

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The Longlist recognises artistic achievement across a wide range of contemporary music genres and provides a snapshot of the incredible depth and resonance of music being made by artists living and working in Scotland.

Now in its seventh year, The SAY Award is Scotland’s most popular and prestigious music prize. The winning artist will pick up a £20,000 prize – provided by long-term Award partner Creative Scotland – with the nine runners-up each receiving £1,000.

The SAY Award 2018 Longlist in full:

1. Adam Holmes and The Embers – Midnight Milk

2. BABE – Kiss & Tell

3. Best Girl Athlete – Best Girl Athlete

4. Blue Rose Code – The Water of Leith

5. Catholic Action – In Memory Of

6. Chris Stout and Catriona McKay – Bare Knuckle

7. Elephant Sessions – All We Have Is Now

8. Franz Ferdinand – Always Ascending

9. Golden Teacher – No Luscious Life

10. Happy Meals (now known as Free Love) – Full Ashram Devotional Ceremony (Volumes IV - VI)

11. Karine Polwart with Pippa Murphy – A Pocket Of Wind Resistance

12. Kobi Onyame – Gold

13. Martha Ffion – Sunday Best

14. Mogwai – Every Country’s Sun

15. Neon Waltz – Strange Hymns

16. Out Lines – Conflats

17. Pronto Mama – Any Joy

18. Siobhan Wilson – There Are No Saints

19. The Spook School – Could It Be Different

20. Young Fathers – Cocoa Sugar

Robert Kilpatrick, General Manager, Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), said: “This year’s Longlist celebrates another 20 incredibly strong, diverse and important contemporary Scottish records. It was great to reveal these tonight at King Tut’s in Glasgow, to an audience featuring artists, industry and music fans from across the country.

"The announcement was set to a backdrop of incredible live performances from previously nominated acts, and we were delighted to be raising money for our Charity Partner Help Musicians Scotland.

"On behalf of the Scottish Music Industry Association, I’d like to congratulate all of this year’s Longlisted artists on fantastic album releases.”

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Louisa Mahon, Head of Marketing, Communications and Events at Renfrewshire Council, added: “The SAY Award is one of the biggest nights of the year in the Scottish music calendar and we are delighted to welcome the prestigious event back to Paisley for a third time.

“Hosting an event such as this has helped establish Paisley as a key destination on Scotland’s major events map, whilst celebrating the town’s rich musical heritage and thriving music scene.

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“My congratulations go to all of the artists announced on The Longlist. We’re very excited to see who will make it to the Shortlist and join us for a spectacular night in Paisley Town Hall next month.”