The 2010 Mercury prize nominees have been announced, and are as follows:
Biffy Clyro – Only Revolutions
Corinne Bailey Rae – The Sea
Dizzee Rascal – Tongue n' Cheek
Kit Downes Trio – Golden
Foals – Total Life Forever
I Am Kloot – Sky at Night
Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More
Paul Weller – Wake Up the Nation
Villagers – Becoming a Jackal
Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
The xx – xx
If you're going to be idealistic and regard the Mercury as something that should reflect the health and creativity of the UK music scene, it's a disappointing list overall. Of course you have to remember that bands/artists often don't pay the entry fee in the first place, but all the same the presence of stuff like Mumford & Sons, Dizzee and Biffy Clyro in there does a disservice to a domestic scene that is currently home to some of the most innovative music being made anywhere (the Hyperdub stable in particular). Good to see Villagers get a nomination of course, and a few commentators have opined that they're in with a serious shout of winning it. Wild Beasts' Two Dancers flattered to deceive to these ears, and while xx won critical praise across the board, I think the album turned out more valuable as a canvas for remixers than as a truly great record in its own right. In fact, there's no-one on the list who i really want to see win it, though I've yet to hear the Foals album.
Villagers - Becoming A Jackal by DominoRecordCo
