The twelve albums short-listed for 2005 are as follows:

Antony & The Johnsons I AM A BIRD NOW

Bloc Party SILENT ALARM

Coldplay X&Y

The Go! Team THUNDER, LIGHTNING, STRIKE

Hard-Fi STARS OF CCTV

KT Tunstall EYE TO THE TELESCOPE

Kaiser Chiefs EMPLOYMENT

The Magic Numbers THE MAGIC NUMBERS

Maximo ParkA CERTAIN TRIGGER

M.I.A. ARULAR

Polar Bear HELD ON THE TIPS OF FINGERS

Seth Jakeman KITTY JAY

How Great?

I have always regarded the Mercury Prize as the UK’s premier popular music award. But in essence it can only be as interesting as the UK music it claims to represent and promote. There’s evidence in this year’s shortlist that the health of the music scene over here is sliding into mediocrity, although there are missing releases of exceptional quality. Each year I check back on the album reviews posted during the period that the award covers, and each year I uncover glaring omissions. Every year I question whether certain albums have even been considered. The 2005 award is no different. This year’s presenter of the award Jools Holland said, “No other country in the world seems to have such depth of talent across all musical genres – and I think this year’s Nationwide Mercury Prize shortlist proves the point really well.” I have news for you Jools, there’s a place called the USA and its close relation Canada who have outgunned us Brits in recent times in every modern genre. For me, the award appears to be becoming a more sophisticated version of The Brits, because of its obvious move towards the most popular rather than the best. In short, this year’s shortlist is far from great, and rather tame…

The Nominations

Looking back over our reviews for the period there are home grown albums that should have been included in 2005. Athlete, The Ga Gas, Tom Baxter, Ed Harcourt, Cathy Davey, Frames and Damien Dempsey are a few of the albums that inspired but seem to have been overlooked. Of the albums nominated Antony & The Johnsons is by far the most interesting, while I cannot comprehend why an awful band like The Magic Numbers has been included. Both these acts appeared on the latest series of the Jools Holland TV show and while Antony blew me away with his distinctive voice and passionate music, I could not understand how the other was granted a slot. Most seem to love the new Coldplay album. I believe it’s a poor effort from a band that seemed to be going backwards. The Kaiser Chiefs released a very good (rather than great) pop/rock album, while the band can deliver big-time live. KT Tunstall’s album is pleasant enough but surely cannot be regarded as the best we Brits can offer…

The Others

From Ireland, the Frames and Damien Dempsey produced albums of real substance, with passionate relevance to the turbulent and unjust world we know inhabit. And both could have walked this year’s award. I caught a performance by The Ga Gas at the fabulous Download festival where the band backed up a great debut album with a stunning live performance. Ed Harcourt produced by far his best album and while his previous effort was nominated, his best isn’t… In comparative terms Martha Wainwright, The Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters, System Of A Down, My Chemical Romance, Modest Mouse, Gwen Stefani, and several other Amercian acts released albums that easily outstripped the quality of most of this year’s Mercury nominations. It’s an uncomfortable fact that the UK music scene in general is slipping further and further behind, while some of its best talent still lies unseen and unheard, submerged by the hype and airplay time given over to far lesser talent.

Perhaps Next Year…?

177 albums were submitted for the award, but what were they? What are the rules for submission? There seems to an awful lot of mystery lurking behind the Mercury Prize and despite efforts to find answers to these and several other questions, I am still none-the-wiser. The award needs to be more open and accessible. And while the powers-that-be can justifiably nod in the direction of new and lesser-known talent nominations, it hasn’t met its own objective of nominating the very best of UK and Irish music. Perhaps next year…? The winner will be announced on the 6 September. You can go to www.nationwidemercurys.com for more details, competitions and much more (be aware, it’s soooo slow).