The annual Mercury Prize, awarded to the best album to come out of the UK, is widely considered to be one of the major accolades a band can receive. Last year Alt-J took out the award (and the £20,000 prize) with their phenomenal debut ‘An Awesome Wave‘, and this year’s nominees have just been announced. Get to know them a little better below.
Rudimental – ‘Home’
Hopping, stepping and jumping between hip hop, house, soul, garage and drum ‘n’ bass, Rudimental‘s mix of genres has enamoured them to music lovers around the world – four producers and a wealth of guest vocalists saw their debut album ‘Home’ enter the British charts at number 1, and reach number 2 in Australia.
SPIN said “At its best, ‘Home’ is a sumptuous, thrilling experience.”
Foals – ‘Holy Fire’
A more accessible third outing for the group for whom adjectives like “spiky”, “artsy”, and even “mathletic” had been thrown around previously, Foals’ ‘Holy Fire’ is a shimmering, emotive, sizeable and unexpectedly crowd-pleasing album.
NME says: “Foals’ third album is a record that bursts out of the speakers and demands to be loved.”
Jon Hopkins – ‘Immunity‘
London producer Jon Hopkins is a master of highly crafted ambient techno, and his fourth album ‘Immunity’ is a lush, hypnotic melding of digital beats and highly processed organic sounds.
Jake Bugg – ‘Jake Bugg’
Jake Bugg is a 19 year old singer-songwriter prodigy hailing from Nottingham who specialises in spare, melodic vintage folk in the vein of Donovan and even Bob Dylan. Noel Gallagher is among his growing fan base.
Laura Mvula – ‘Sing To The Moon’
Laura Mvula‘s decadent orchestral pop wraps around you like a warm, velvety hug. Sounding like a 1940’s film score brought into the now, the Birmingham Conservatoire graduate’s debut album ‘Sing To The Moon’ is a wholly pleasing fusion of jazz melodies and soulful vocals.
As The Independent says of Mvula, “We’ve got a special one here.”
Villagers – ‘{Awayland}’
{Awayland}, the second album for Irishman Conor J O’Brien and his soothing indie-folk cohorts in Villagers, is a thought-provoking record full of dazzling imagery and musical exploration. This is the group’s second Mercury Prize nomination, their 2010 debut album ‘Becoming A Jackal’ earned them their first.
Quietus says “‘{Awayland}’ is a treasure trove of an album, brimming with ideas.”
David Bowie – ‘The Next Day’
Just when we thought David Bowie had nothing more to say, he surprised the world by releasing ‘The Next Day’, his 24th LP, and first album in a decade. Playful, bold, confident and close to musically flawless, ‘The Next Day’ sounds like record that was made purely because the creator wanted to create it, and proves that after four decades as a pop music innovator, Bowie is still as relevant as ever.
The Telegraph says “‘The Next Day’ is both immediately rewarding and mystifyingly opaque.”
Savages – ‘Silence Yourself’
Noisy, chaotic and confrontational, the debut for all-female post-punk revivalists Savages is a primal, blistering brand of unhinged social commentary.
Disclosure – ‘Settle’
A marked departure from their post-dubstep roots, Surrey siblings Guy and Howard Lawrence put together ‘Settle’, their take on UK garage and acid house, and Disclosure immediately rose to the top of the dance music scene internationally.
Laura Marling – ‘Once I Was An Eagle‘
It just wouldn’t be a Mercury Prize nominations list without a nod to Laura Marling, who’s 2013 album ‘Once I Was An Eagle‘ marks the gifted singer/songwriter’s third.
James Blake – ‘Overgrown‘
‘Overgrown’, the second album for electronic maestro James Blake, picks up where his self-titled debut left off, the 24-year-old carving his path through post-RnB, post-dubstep, post-soul, post-gospel… post everything, really.
Arctic Monkeys – ‘AM‘
Arctic Monkeys‘ fifth outing (in what feels like, but is not quite, as many years) ‘AM’ is a staggering, swaggering, slow-paced and sexual affair, a far cry from the frenetic indie rock of the Sheffield lads’ 2006 debut, ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.’ AM has been incredibly well received, and the Arctic Monkeys are widely tipped to be the main challenger to Bowie’s ‘The Next Day’ in taking out the prize.