12 albums have been announced the shortlist for the Mercury Prize, the annual award that the British Phonographic Industry and British Association of Record Dealers hands out to one album from the UK and Ireland they feel is the strongest.
Some of the past winners include iconic albums such as Arctic Monkeys’ “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not,” PJ Harvey’s “Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea,” and more recently, Wolf Alice’s “Visions of a Life.”
Check out this year’s list below, which includes a large number of debuts, including Nia Archives, English Teacher, Beth Gibbons, and Last Dinner Party.
• Nia Archives – Silence Is Loud
• Barry Can’t Swim – When Will We Land?
• Berwyn – Who Am I
• Cat Burns – Early Twenties
• CMAT – Crazymad, Tor Me
• Corto.alto – Bad With Names
• English Teacher – This Could Be Texas
• Ghetts – On Purpose, With Purpose
• Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown
• The Last Dinner Party – Prelude To Ecstasy
• Corinne Bailey Rae – Black Rainbows
• Charli XCX – Brat
