Nationwide Mercury Prize Albums of the Year

• 17th Jul 2007

The dreaded Mercury Music Prize is back. This year its Nationwide who sponsor the lesser cursed award since Arctic Monkeys and Dizzee Rascal managed to maintain a modicum of success post-winning the prestigious award.

This year’s shortlist contains artists from the far reaches of the UK. The View, with Hats Off to the Buskers, hail from Dundee while Dublin-based Fionn Regan is shortlisted for The End of History. Maps' James Chapman recorded his album, We Can Create, in his Northamptonshire bedroom and The Young Knives, whose Voices of Animals and Men is shortlisted, now live in Oxford after forming in Ashby de la Zouche. Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys won the Prize in 2006 and continue to make musical history by being the first artists to be shortlisted in two consecutive years – this year for their number one album Favourite Worst Nightmare.

Among the debut albums on the list are New Young Pony Club’s energetic Fantastic Playroom, the haunting self-titled album from Basquiat Strings with Seb Rochford, and Jamie T’s Panic Prevention, which provides
a witty snapshot of growing up in contemporary Britain. Other debut releases come from Klaxons with their exhilarating Myths of the Near Future and the beautiful and intriguing album by Bat For Lashes, Fur and Gold.

The shortlist is completed by Back to Black, Amy Winehouse’s UK number one album and Maths + English by a previous winner of the Prize, Dizzee Rascal.

The 2007 Albums of the Year are:
Bat for Lashes – Fur and Gold
Maps – We Can Create
Fionn Regan – The End of History
The View – Hats Off to the Buskers
New Young Pony Club – Fantastic Playroom
Dizzee Rascal – Maths + English
Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future
Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
The Young Knives – Voices of Animals and Men
Jamie T – Panic Prevention
Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare
Basquiat Strings – Basquiat Strings with Seb Rochford

The shortlist was chosen from an entry of over 230 albums by UK and Irish artists. The winner of the 2007 Prize will be announced on Tuesday 4 September. There will be programmes on BBC Television and Radio.

Glasswerk.co.uk tips Jamie T to scoop this year's award for his album Panic Prevention ahead of Amy Winehouse's Back to Black.