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Jul 26, 2022 By Mark Redfern Photography by Hollie Fernando

This year’s Mercury Prize nominees have been announced and they include the latest albums by Wet Leg, Yard Act, Gwenno, Harry Styles, Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler, Self Esteem, and more. The full list is below.

Wet Leg (Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers) are nominated for their self-titled debut album, which came out in April on Domino. The duo have had quite a meteoric rise since releasing their hit debut single, “Chaise Longue,” only last year.

“Chaise Longue” was #1 on our Top 130 Songs of 2021 list. Read our 2021 interview with Wet Leg on “Chaise Longue.” Read our recent interview with Wet Leg on their album here. Also read our rave review of Wet Leg here.

Yard Act are also nominated for their debut album, The Overload. Read our print magazine interview with Yard Act on The Overload. Also read our rave 9/10 review of The Overload.

Gwenno (full name Gwenno Saunders) released her newest album, Tresor, just earlier this month via Heavenly Recordings.

Acclaimed actress Jessie Buckley (I’m Thinking of Ending Things, The Lost Daughter) and ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler released their first album together, For All Our Days That Tear The Heart, in June via EMI. Butler has actually won the Mercury Prize before, with Suede for their self-titled debut in 1993.

Self Esteem (aka Rebecca Taylor, formerly of Slow Club) released her sophomore studio album, Prioritise Pleasure, last October via Fiction. Read our interview with her about it here.

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.

The eligibility period for this year stretches from July 2021 to July 2022.

Arlo Parks won last year. Michael Kiwanuka won in 2020. British rapper Dave won in 2019. Wolf Alice in 2018. 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 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 8th ceremony to see who the winner is.

Mercury Prize 2022 Nominees:

Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler: For All Our Days That Tear The Heart
Joy Crookes: Skin
Sam Fender: Seventeen Going Under
Gwenno: Tresor
Fergus McCreadie: Forest Floor
Kojey Radical: Reason To Smile
Little Simz: Sometimes I Might Be An Introvert
Nova Twins: Supernova
Self Esteem: Prioritise Pleasure
Harry Styles: Harry’s House
Wet Leg: Wet Leg
Yard Act: The Overload

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