News

2012 Mercury Music Prize Nominations

• 13th Sep 2012

I have a love/hate relationship with the Mercury Prize. Surprisingly, I’m not one of the many people who think that it would be good to see a real alternative rock or metal act nominated, but I do have a few gripes.

Often the Mercury Prize feels to me like a chance for that guy in the glasses frames with no lenses to look incredulously at you when you admit that no, actually, you hadn’t heard of Roller Trio before and that even now that you have you don’t much care for it. It seems to be somehow against the rules to criticize or call out nominations, even though it can often feel like a very exclusive event that should be the exact opposite, and indeed what it claims to be in the press release – an inclusive celebration and promotion of the best of UK music.

Having said that, often the mix of emerging and established talent is balanced well – for reference see Elbow’s well deserved win after a lengthy career of service to the British music industry, and being all-round bloody lovely Northern blokes – and there is a good selection of genres being included year in year out. From this year for me personally, Alt-J, Michael Kiwanuka and Django Django are all stand out artists who have demolished expectations and raised their game to be at the forefront of UK music on an international scale with exceptional releases.

Where I disagree with the Mercury’s this time around is the almost token inclusion of Plan B, an artist who admittedly caused a revelation with his The Defamation Of Strickland Banks album in 2010, but has done little to reinvigorate or explore new avenues on his latest release Ill Manors. Admittedly he’s a global superstar and is championing UK music at home and abroad, but I’m still left feeling like there are worthier, gutsier and more relevant albums that have been overlooked. I suppose my main issue with the Mercury’s is a personal one. I always feel slightly disappointed that my own personal taste in music is under represented, like the bands I love are somehow being sold short by not receiving the credit I deem them worthy of, but ultimately the Mercury Music Prize is a positive thing for the British music industry on a global scale, helping to shine the spotlight on the myriad of emerging talent we have pouring out of the country daily.

As the editor of a music website who is constantly on the scour for new bands, I can tell you that there is more creative talent in the young people of the UK today than I can ever remember previously. My mailbag is heaving with new submissions of incredible, beautiful, thoughtful, heartbreaking and experimental new music every day, all created by home grown talent. We could be doing a lot worse than honouring some of those acts with an award and helping them to achieve their potential.

Plus, I’m basically in love with Lauren Laverne, so I have to watch them anyway.

The 2012 Mercury Music Prize Nominations In Full:

Richard Hawley ‘Standing at the Sky’s Edge’
Field Music ‘Plumb’
The Maccabees ‘Given to the Wild’
Plan B ‘Ill Manors’
Lianne La Havas ‘Is Your Love Big Enough?’
Jessie Ware ‘Devotion’
Alt-J (∆) ‘An Awesome Wave’
Roller Trio ‘Roller Trio’
Michael Kiwanuka ‘Home Again’
Sam Lee ‘Ground of its Own’
Django Django ‘Django Django’
Ben Howard ‘Every Kingdom’