A celebration for the best albums in British and Irish pop, there’s something very pleasing about the simplicity of the Mercury Prize: forget your multiple categories or other bells and whistles, this one has 12 nominees, and one winner to rule them all.
The first-ever ceremony took place in 1992, and saw Primal Scream crowned as the winners with the hugely influential album Screamadelica. Since, winners have included Portishead’s Dummy, The xx’s minimal, eponymous pop debut, and Skepta’s Konnichiwa.
Ahead of this year’s Mercury Prize, which takes place on September 7, the shortlist of nominations has officially landed: something which carries almost as much prestige as winning the thing. From the runaway favourites to the shock snubs, here are the main takeaways.
The Shoo-ins
Along with a smattering of newer faces, this year’s shortlist features a handful of Mercury Prize regulars. Arctic Monkeys’ latest album The Car – which was awarded five stars by the Standard’s David Smyth – bagged the Sheffield band their fifth appearance at the awards. Back in 2006, the group’s seismic debut Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not stormed to victory at the prestigious prize. "Someone call 999, Richard Hawley’s been robbed," joked Alex Turner in his acceptance speech. Though yet to secure that elusive second victory (a feat that only PJ Harvey has achieved) they’ve scooped multiple shortlist spots since: 2007’s Favourite Worst Nightmare, 2013’s AM and 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino all made the nominations cut. Could The Car, a departure from the band’s ferocious indie-rock beginnings, lead to an incredibly rare second victory?
Edinburgh art-rap group Young Fathers also have history with the Mercurys, taking home the top prize in 2014 for their exceptional debut album Dead. Its follow-up, the blazing White Men Are Black Men Too, could’ve easily been a contender the very next year. Instead, their deserved second nomination stems from this year’s Heavy Heavy, and off the back of one of Glastonbury’s standout live performances.
It’s also J Hus’ and Loyle Carner’s second time at the annual music gongs. Back in 2017, both London rappers made the shortlist with their respective debut albums.
Few will be surprised to see Fred Again.. in the mix with Actual Life 3 (January 1 - September 9 2022)’s eclectic blend, though whether he can go all the way is another question.
Beyond the familiar Mercury alumni, few will be shocked to spot Jockstrap getting the nod for their phenomenal debut album I Love You, Jennifer B; a shape-shifting and experimental feat of a debut which melds the London duo’s classical training at Guildhall with a deliciously skewed take on both pop and dance.
The Surprises
There are a few traditions that seem to pop up every year; would it even be the Mercury Prize without the inclusion of the so-called ‘token jazz album’? While Ezra Collective, the innovative London jazz quintet who recently collaborated with fellow nominee Loyle Carner, occupy this spot for 2023, they’re not the biggest curveball here. Instead, that’s a title reserved for the alternative folk group Lankum, who have already won a scattering of awards in their home country of Ireland, and pinched the number two spot in the Irish album charts with their nominated record False Lankum. Charging the traditional foundations of the genre with fierce Gothic intensity, it conjures menace out of frantic jigs and drone-like hums of strings. Nominations for lesser-known acts can sometimes prove a game changer. In 2014, for instance, Polar Bear and GoGo Penguin both saw their streaming numbers jump by well over 1000 per cent apiece.
Pop feels as if it has gradually entered the Mercury spotlight slightly more in recent years: Dua Lipa and Charli XCX both made the cut in 2020, for instance. These poppier picks can sometimes feel slightly harder to call, and Harry Styles’ inclusion (perhaps inevitably) triggered days of debate last year as onlookers wrangled with the alternative credentials of Harry’s House. Even Ed Sheeran made the list in 2017.
This is not Jessie Ware’s first Mercury rodeo, as the south London singer was previously nominated way back in 2012 with Devotion; an atmospheric but slightly unadventurous debut of smouldering slow-burners. Though That! Feels Good! making the cut perhaps isn’t the biggest jaw-dropper in the world – pressing skip, flying straight past nu-disco and diving right into the campy beats that swirled around Studio 54 – it’s still a more unexpected treat to have in the mix.
Easily one of the most innovative records on the list, especially in terms of how it gleefully subverts the gloss of pure pop, Shygirl’s debut Nymph thoroughly deserves its spot; it’s brilliant news that the judges have recognised the impact she’s having on the genre, as well as that record’s ridiculously memorable lullaby: Coochie (a bedtime story). Another artist early in her career, Olivia Dean’s first album Messy is another pleasant surprise, here. Ditto RAYE, who has successfully struck out as an independent artist following years of major label limbo.
The Shock Omissions
Sure, PJ Harvey has already won the Mercury Prize twice, but possibly deserved a fifth nomination to add to her impressive collection. “This is a wonderfully immersive experience, the music stripped back to a skeletal state that recalls Nick Cave’s recent work, and leaving plenty of space for Harvey to sing in a ghostly keen that feels new for her. Her vision of old England is a vivid, spellbinding one,” we wrote in our 5-star album review of her latest album I Inside the Old Year Dying. It felt like a real contender, but has been snubbed this time around.
One of the other most notable snubs has to be Little Simz, who took home the top prize last year, and also deserved a second nomination for its follow-up NO THANK YOU. Easily one of the best albums of last year it felt like a sure bet.
Perhaps less glaring, but I also would have really loved to see nominations for London art-punks Dream Wife, for their fiery third album Social Lubrication, or a nod for Irish post-punks The Murder Capital, and second record Gigi’s Recovery.
