NEWS
EVENTS
Mercury Music Prize 2013
Indie | Monday 30th September 2013 | Harry
What becomes clear when glancing down this year’s Mercury prize shortlist is the abundance of big names and commercially successful artists. Arctic Monkeys, Foals, Jake Bugg, Laura Mvula and Disclosure are all in the running, while the returning David Bowie has emerged as the early favourite for the award. While the line-up includes five debut albums, the majority of acts on the list have experienced chart success, and the nominations suggest a shift towards more established acts in 2013.
This year, commercial dance acts Disclosure and Rudimental have replaced more eccentric and experimental acts on the fringes of the British music scene. This is the safest mercury line-up for years, and it could be seen as an overbalancing after the nominations for the 2012 award won by Alt-J were seen by many as the most obscure the awards had in years.
If anything, the line-up is lacking in imagination. It’s missing an acid jazz three piece, or perhaps a Theremin quartet, or something just a bit wacky. The mix of the commercial and the bizarre that normally makes the mercury prize such a spectacle just isn’t there this year. While all the albums are deserving of recognition, the shortlist’s lack of flair is noticeable. If the Mercury prize is focusing on more recognised acts and slightly more established artists, then there are some remarkable exclusions. Surely Everything Everything’s Arc and London Grammar’s achingly beautiful record If You Wait both deserve a place on the list?
As we have seen with The XX and Elbow - to name a few - the credibility of the prize has the power to change the entire career of an act and propel them to new levels of success. The fact is that the vast majority of 2013’s shortlisted acts simply don’t need the Mercury prize and the exposure it brings.
Here are the shortlisted nominations from 2012:
