Barclaycard Mercury Prize

So it's that time again. The nominations have been released and anyone who is remotely interested in the state of British and Irish music are putting their two pennies worth in. For those who do not know; the Mercury Prize is a prestigious music award celebrating the album of the year in the UK and Ireland as chosen by the big wigs in the profession. Although the shortlist has now been announced, the ceremony is not until September so in the meantime it provides fierce debate with music journalists as to who should have been in, who should have been out and who will win.

Despite its illustrious stature within the profession and the initial impact it has upon nominated artists album sales, the winning award has been tarnished with the reputation of being a curse. Take last years winner Speech Debelle for example, her post-Mercury gigs were scarcely attended (even by the rapper herself) and she later parted company with her record label thus being blasted into the realms of obscurity. Damon Albarn has reportedly advocated such a view in withdrawing Gorillaz from a possible nomination although he has publically attributed his withdrawal due to the fact that the award should reward upcoming acts. This is a sentiment I can understand and reason with. Although there is a case for the nomination of certain established acts such as Hot Chip or maybe The Maccabees who have released outstanding albums this year, should the award encourage new acts and bring them to a bigger audience? It is for this reason that I am particularly disappointed in the nominations of Dizzee Rascal and Paul Weller. These nominations reflect a step into the mainstream for the award but are in my opinion distinctly average albums and are certainly not the best offerings from either artist.

The XX have arisen as the bookies favourite and are currently fetching odds of 15/8. I would not complain with the XX as winners as they have made an album that defies genre and has offered something genuinely exciting. Simarly, singer-songwriter Connor O'Brien a.k.a Villagers has produced an album full of passion, emotion and dark imagery (see his performance on Jools Holland) and has emerged as a genuine contender. My pick, in spite of contradicting myself would be for Wild Beasts latest offering, Two Dancers. The band have flittered on the mainstream and are known for their unique vocal intonation. Two Dancers is a masterpiece that is full of energetic, boldly original and quintisentially English (introducing Whitby in 'All the Kings Men') songs and should be celebrated.

The nominations are as follows:

• Biffy Clyro "Only Revolutions"


• Corinne Baily Rae-"The Sea"


• Dizzee Rascal-"Tongue 'N' Cheek"


• Kit Downes Trio-"Golden"


• Foals- "Total Life Forever"


• I Am Kloot- "Sky At Night"


• Laura Marling- "I Speak Because I Can"


• Mumford and Sons- "Sigh No More"


• Paul Weller- "Wake Up The Nation"


• Villagers- "Becoming A Jackal"


• Wild Beasts- "Two Dancers"


• The XX- "XX"