Charli XCX and Beth Gibbons up for Mercury Prize
Charli XCX is enjoying the most successful album campaign of her career, with Brat
- Published
The summer of "Brat" continues, with Charli XCX's brash new album named as one of the 12 nominees for the Mercury Prize.
The Essex-born singer is shortlisted for her sixth record, which combines hedonistic club beats with introspective lyrics about her relationships and career.
Also in the running are Irish country singer CMAT, breakout dance act Barry Can't Swim and BBC Sound of 2024 winners The Last Dinner Party.
And Beth Gibbons is nominated for her debut solo album, Lives Outgrown, 29 years after winning the Mercury Prize with her band Portishead.
The winner will be revealed in September - but for the first time in the award's 32-year history (except for 2020) there will be no public ceremony.
Corinne Bailey Rae is up for the prize for the first time since 2010
Established in 1992, the prize recognises the best British or Irish album of the last 12 months.
Returning nominees this year include Corinne Bailey Rae, singer-songwriter Berwyn and the rapper Ghetts - each of whose albums examine issues of racism and inequality.
Eight of the 12 shortlisted artists are women or female-fronted bands - a record high.
They include Leeds-based indie band English Teacher, uplifting songsmith Cat Burns and jungle producer Nia Archives.
The list is rounded out by Scottish musician Corto.Alto, whose album Bad With Names has received rave reviews for its supple, genre-splicing approach to jazz.
Some high-profile albums failed to make the cut, including Blur's The Ballad Of Darren, Dua Lipa's Radical Optimism and Heaven Knows, by pop newcomer PinkPantheress.
Winners of this year's Mercury Prize, Ezra Collective, deliver their winning speech.
Last year, the Mercury Prize was won by a jazz act for the first time, with London group Ezra Collective taking the trophy for their second release, Where I'm Meant To Be.
Other former winners include Pulp's Different Class, Elbow's Seldom Seen Kid and Skepta's Konichiwa.
In recent years, the ceremony has been held at London's Hammersmith Apollo, with nominees each performing a track from their nominated record.
But this week, organisers confirmed that element had been dropped in favour of "other extensive promotional activity", after the award lost a lucrative sponsorship deal with Freenow.
The prize-giving will still be broadcast by the BBC, with the date still to be confirmed.
That platform will prove essential for many of this year's artists.
Only two of the nominated albums have spent more than a week in the UK album charts, while some - including those by Corinne Bailey Rae and Berwyn - have missed the Top 75 altogether.
Meanwhile, only one of the shortlisted records - The Last Dinner Party's Prelude To Ecstasy - has been popular enough to receive a silver disc, representing 60,000 copies sold in the UK.
So if you've found yourself wondering what all these albums sound like, here's a potted guide to the class of 2024.
Barry Can’t Swim - When Will We Land?
Sometimes, music just floats out of the speakers and wraps you in a big, warm hug. That’s what Edinburgh-born Joshua Mainnie, aka Barry Can’t Swim, achieves on his debt album, When Will We Land?
A blissed-out house record, spiced with elements of Afrobeats and Brazilian pop, it’s a euphoric hymn to the unifying power of dance music.
He says: “You only get to make your debut album once. So I want to showcase all the elements of the things I enjoy and love in music up to this point.”
The critics say: “It's a record that makes every element work in its favour, however small – brewing them up into something quite magical.” [Clash Magazine, external]
Berwyn - Who Am I?
Berwyn made history in 2021 when an album of demo recordings became the first mixtape to become nominated for the Mercury Prize.
Three years later, he’s back with his proper debut album - a visceral exploration of identity, immigration, race and resilience.
Mixing dark-humoured poetry with soaring melodies, it roasts the UK’s immigration system, which treats the Trinidad-born, London-raised musician as an unwanted inconvenience.
But amidst the struggle, he never loses hope, defiantly declaring that the pressure turned him “into a diamond”.
He says: “These are all very raw experiences and very raw emotions - but I’ve been given a sense of purpose. That has been the best thing anyone has ever given to me.”
The critics say: “An inspiring, educational album – it should be on the national curriculum.” [The Guardian, external]
Beth Gibbons - Lives Outgrown
Thirty years after making her name with Portishead, Beth Gibbons’ first solo album is a quiet exploration of motherhood, ageing and loss.
Relying entirely on hand-played instruments, it has a tactile, organic sound that perfectly compliments Gibbons’ weathered vocals. Now 59, she sings plaintively about absent friends and the physical reckonings of age: “I can change the way I feel/I can make my body heal.”
Written and recorded over 10 years, it’s a worthy addition to the catalogue of great albums about middle age and later life, alongside Kate Bush’s Aerial, Lou Reed’s The Blue Mask and David Bowie’s Blackstar.
She says: “When you’re young, you never know the endings. You think: We’re going to get beyond this [but] some endings are hard to digest.”
The critics said: “Beth Gibbons gives us the understanding of our mortality that we all need.” [The Quietus, external]
Cat Burns - Early Twenties
Three years ago, Cat Burns was busking on the streets of London when one of her older songs, Go, went viral on TikTok. An acerbic goodbye to a cheating partner, it eventually sold more than 1.2 million copies and earned her three Brit nominations.
Her debut album came out just two weeks ago, catching fans up with everything she’s been through since. The titles are self-explanatory - Low Self Esteem, People Pleaser, Some Things Don’t Last Forever - reflecting the chatty openness of her lyrics.
Blessed with a soulful voice and a left-field sensibility that stops songs from sliding into predictability, Burns proves she has more to offer than her break-out hit.
She says: “I knew I wanted the album to be about being in your early 20s and everything that I’m experiencing - and then the songs just wrote themselves.”
The critics said: “A talented singer with a distinct lyrical focus… striving to make herself a better human and the world a better place.” [Line Of Best Fit, external]
Charli XCX - Brat
It’s Brat Girl Summer. Even Kamala Harris says so. And what does that mean? On first glance, it’s all about hedonism - sweaty dancefloors, decadent parties, bad behaviour and “looking like an icon”.
But scratch beneath the surface of Charli XCX’s sixth album and there’s a surprising vulnerability. Under the club beats and stomach-churning synth drops, she sings about social anxiety, body image and career insecurities.
In some respects, it’s the most daring album yet from one of pop’s most uncompromising innovators. But it’s also become one of her biggest commercial successes, debuting in the top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic. As Rolling Stone put it: “The world has finally caught up to Charli XCX.”
She says: “This new music is not going to be played in Starbucks. It’s not going to be played on the Zen Morning playlist. It’s pop music and I’m being true to myself.”
The critics said: “Imperious and cool, nuanced and vulnerable, and one of the best pop albums of the year.” [Pitchfork, external]
CMAT - Crazymad, For Me
Irish singer CMAT’s second album is a concept record about travelling back in time to rescue herself from a relationship with an older man who “ruined her life”.
The songs excavate the power imbalance. She consoles him about his “perfect” ex, does the dishes and pays the rent. He responds by cheating on her and destroying her self-worth.
Drenched in the sounds of country-rock, CMAT tells these stories with dry humour rather than self-pity, turning a tragic story into a series of melodramatic show-stoppers.
She says: “I wanted to make Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell for the girls.”
The critics said: “A triumphant whirlwind of pain and self-preservation, which reveals more of itself with every listen.” [DIY, external]
Corinne Bailey Rae - Black Rainbows
You might know her for the sweet soul song Put Your Records On, but a lot has changed for Corinne Bailey Rae since her breakthrough hit in 2006.
Black Rainbows, her fourth album, was inspired by artefacts she saw at the Stony Island Arts Bank - a museum of black cultural history in Chicago.
An ashtray in the shape of a black child prompted the song Erasure - a screeching punk anthem about the exploitation of enslaved children; while the freeform jazz runs of Peach Velvet Sky were based on the memoir of former slave Harriet Jacobs, who hid in a tiny crawl space for seven years to escape persecution in 19th Century America, with only glimpses of the sky to sustain her.
Across the record, she branches out into electronica, jazz, Chicago house and Afrofuturism, as she explores “all the different ways of existing in the world as a black person”.
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.”
The critics said: “Bailey Rae sounds like an artist reborn. It may not be what you expect, but it’s all the better for that.” [Music OMH, external]
Corto.Alto - Bad With Names
A prolific musician who once released 30 singles in 30 days, Corto.Alto is the alter-ego of Glaswegian jazz instrumentalist Liam Shortall.
His debut album, Bad With Names, was released last year, showcasing his ability to edit improvised jam sessions into taut and compelling songs, full of skittering beats, squelchy synths and monstrous riffs.
The record owes as much to the chopped-and-layered sounds of DJ Shadow and J Dilla as he does to traditional jazz - crossing boundaries and challenging perceptions without straying into dissonance or inaccesibility.
He says: “This is my music - it is the closest representation of who I am - and it’s dedicated to my city, since it couldn’t have been made anywhere else.”
The critics said: “Forward-thinking, cohesive, complete... Bad With Names marks a new high point for Scottish jazz music.” [The Skinny, external]
English Teacher - This Could Be Texas
“I want this album to feel like you’ve gone to space, and it turns out it’s almost identical to Doncaster,” said singer Lily Fontaine of her band’s debut release.
The record is steeped in her upbringing in the North-West, addressing social deprivation and political mismanagement (“Can the river stop its banks from bursting? / Blame the council, not the rain”), alongside themes of identity, love, loss and celebrity.
Musically playful, it combines Fontaine’s partially-spoken vocals with dreamy, Smiths-like guitar lines and complex polyrhythms - with the gorgeous The Best Tears Of Your Life building to a head-spinning wall of sound.
They say: “When we were recording, it did feel at times like we were putting together pieces of random puzzles… but I’ve never been so proud of something.”
The critics said: “Could be one of the finest debuts of the decade, with every band member shining in their ability and craftsmanship.” [Line Of Best Fit, external]
Ghetts - On Purpose, With Purpose
Incredibly, the grime scene is now at a place where some of its originators are hitting their 40s. Among them is Ghetts, who jokes about becoming an elder statesman on this, his fourth album.
“I used to worry about arrests, but not a cardiac,” he raps on the opening track, Intro.
Elsewhere, his concerns are more serious. He talks about racial profiling, the NHS funding crisis, wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and even the ravages of postnatal depression on the powerful closing track, Jonah’s Safety.
Showcasing his versatility, his flow graces beats drawn from neo-soul and Amapiano, in addition to more traditional drill tracks - but the real star is his perspective and wisdom.
He says: “I always want the music to feel like a movie, to provide the listener with a unique understanding of my thought processes, or what’s going on in my life.”
The critics said: “His storytelling has never been so raw." [DIY, external]
Nia Archives - Silence Is Loud
Bradford-born musician Nia Archives has been at the forefront of the UK’s jungle revival - combining saw-toothed breakbeats with heartfelt emotion.
There’s a melancholy undertow to the lyrics which, in tandem with the title, suggest her frenetic live shows are only just managing to keep anxiety and exhaustion at bay. “Work is a chore, deep down I want fun,” she confesses on the otherwise breezy, Britpop-adjacent Cards On The Table.
It’s a shot in the arm for the genre, dragging it away from the blokey pursuit of ever-more-punishing rhythms, towards a deeper, more spiritual sound.
No wonder she’s won the support of jungle godfather Goldie, who pops up on the Cranberries-inspired banger Tell Me What It’s Like?
She says: “Jungle is so chaotic and intense but my songwriting is always quite emotional. Bringing the two together always makes something quite interesting.”
The critics said: “Catchy as hell and swaggers out of the speakers with an infectious joy.” [Louder Than War, external]
The Last Dinner Party - Prelude To Ecstasy
Opulent, gothic, melodramatic and crammed full of hooks, The Last Dinner Party’s album is an antidote to all the quiet, confessional ballads that have populated the charts for the last five years.
Formed in London, but drawn from all over the UK and Australia, the five-piece draw equally from the fiery dynamics of Florence + The Machine, and the art-rock instincts of Sparks and Roxy Music.
Fronted by human windmill Abigail Morris, and brought to life by killer guitarist Emily Roberts, the songs tackle everything from Catholic guilt to sex and death, with a penchant for unexpected tempo-switches and intriguing chord changes.
Honed over months of live performance, there’s an visceral feel to the album’s 12 tracks, which were recorded (where else) in a church in North London last year.
They say: “We wanted our debut album to be a mission statement.”
The critics said: “Flamboyant, fun and totally distinct." [NME, external]
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- Published7 September 2023
