The 2012 Mercury Music Prize shortlist, which was unveiled yesterday (September 12th), contains no standout albums and as a result is one of the most wide open of recent years, according to the chairman of the judges’ panel Simon Frith.
“I suppose there was nothing that seemed to be an absolute must and so the field became much more wide open,” Frith is quoted as saying in the Telegraph.
“There was no equivalent of an Adele record or the Arctic Monkeys record. Whether there’s a record that you think is going to change the way people make music – probably not, and that goes back to there being no standout record.”
Early favourites Alt-J remain one of the top bookies’ tips to win the award this year, while Plan B and Richard Hawley have also seen their odds tumble after securing nominations yesterday.
Mercury Music Prize 2012 shortlist:
Alt-J – ‘An Awesome Wave’
Ben Howard – ‘Every Kingdom’
Django Django – ‘Django Django’
Field Music – ‘Plum’
Jessie Ware – ‘Devotion’
Lianne La Havas – ‘Is Your Love Big Enough?’
The Maccabees – ‘Given To The Wild’
Michael Kiwanuka – ‘Home Again
Plan B – ‘Ill Manors’
Richard Hawley – ‘Standing At The Sky’s Edge’
Roller Trio – ‘Roller Trio’
Sam Lee – ‘Ground Of Its Own’