The ‘Mercury Prize 2024: Album of the Year’ programme will broadcast live from Abbey Road Studios
Thursday: Mercury Prize 2024: Album of the Year (BBC4, 9pm)
However, if you feel like the Mercury Prize ceremony seems scaled down this year, you’d be right – it’s currently without a sponsor, so unlike in previous years, there isn’t a public event. Instead, all 12 nominees have been invited to Abbey Road Studios, where the winner is announced tonight. The good news though is that the ethos behind the award remains unchanged, with a typically eclectic line-up of nominees.
The most talked-about album in the running this year is Charli XCX’s Brat. It’s become a social-media phenomenon, with even US presidential hopeful Kamala Harris referencing it online, as well as a critical and commercial hit.
So, a win tonight would confirm that it truly is Brat summer, but the Mercury famously doesn’t always go for the obvious choice.
One of the other big hitters on this year’s nominee list is Prelude to Ecstasy, the debut album by London-based band the Last Dinner Party. It has been praised as a return to gothic opulence (and guitar solos) in a music landscape that can feel like it’s dominated by quieter, confessional singer-songwriter fare.
Among the established names who have made the cut are Corinne Bailey Rae, who first scored a hit back in 2006 with her laidback single, Girl Put Your Records On. However, her latest album, Black Rainbows, finds her exploring very different sounds.
As she says: “I’m starting to think of myself as an artist instead of someone who’s trying to get a pop song. I feel like I’m back in the playful mindset of music.”
Then there’s also Beth Gibbons, who is used to being a critics’ favourite as the singer in Portishead, but has now released her solo debut, Lives Outgrown, which was written and recorded over the course of 10 years.
Meanwhile, Cat Burns received a career boost when one of her songs, Go, went viral on TikTok, but her album early twenties suggests she’s in for the long haul.
There’s a nod for Irish singer CMAT’s second album, Crazymad, for Me, which she winningly describes as “I wanted to make Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell for the girls.”
Edinburgh-born Joshua Mannie, aka Barry Can’t Swim, has been nominated for When Will We Land?, while Berwyn, who made history in 2021 when an album of demo recordings became the first mixtape to be nominated for the Mercury Prize, is in contention again with his ‘proper’ album Who Am I.
Also in the line-up are the Leeds-based band English Teacher with This Could Be Texas, grime veteran Ghetts with On Purpose, With Purpose and Silence is Loud by Bradford-born jungle revivalist Nia Archives.
Finally, Corto.Alto gets what used to be seen as the ‘token’ jazz slot for Bad with Names, but Ezra Collective’s win in 2023 proved that the judges do take the genre seriously.
As ever, there has been some grumbling about who hasn’t made the cut, but for many people, this year’s nominees are an interesting mix of big names and up-and-comers. Now though, it’s time to find out who the winner is…