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L to R: Anna Calvi and Cate Le Bon

Jul 25, 2019 black midi By Christopher Roberts

This year’s Mercury Prize nominees have been announced and they include the latest albums by Cate Le Bon, Anna Calvi, IDLES, Foals, The 1975, Black Midi, Fontaines D.C., slowthai, and more. Anna Calvi has the distinction of now having all three of her albums nominated for the Mercury Prize. The full list is below.

Since 1992 the Mercury Prize has been awarded to the best British album of the year, meaning an album created by a citizen of the U.K. and Ireland. It’s become one of the biggest honors a British musician can receive and can also boost an album’s sales in the U.K., especially if it wins.

Some potential snubs this year include Nilüfer Yanya, Rose Elinor Dougall, These New Puritans, Fat White Family, The Twilight Sad, Piroshka, James Blake, The Chemical Brothers, TOY, C Duncan, Suede, Hot Chip, and no doubt others we’re not thinking of.

Wolf Alice deservedly won last year. In 2017 Sampha won, the year before it was Skepta, and the year before that it was Benjamin Clementine. The Mercury Prize started out strong with Primal Scream’s Screamadelica winning in 1992 and Suede’s self-titled debut winning in 1993. There have been lots of great artists who have also won since, including PJ Harvey (the only artist to win it twice), Pulp, Elbow, Portishead, Franz Ferdinand, and others. Although they don’t always get it right and there have been some forgettable winners as well.

We’ll have to wait until the September 19th ceremony to see who the winner is.

Mercury Prize 2019 Nominees:

Anna Calvi: Hunter
Black Midi: Schlagenheim
Cate Le Bon: Reward
Dave: Psychodrama
Foals: Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost: Part 1
Fontaines D.C.: Dogrel
IDLES: Joy as an Act of Resistance
Little Simz: Grey Area
NAO: Saturn
SEED Ensemble: Driftglass
slowthai: Nothing Great About Britain
The 1975: A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships

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