The 12 finalists for this year’s Barclaycard Mercury Music prize have been announced – with Alt-J, Plan B and The Maccabees all in the running.
The shortlist, chosen from an entry of over 250 albums, was announced by Lauren Laverne tonight at The Hospital Club in Covent Garden.
“This year’s Barclaycard Mercury Prize shortlist showcases a wonderful variety of musical voices, emotions and ambitions”, says Simon Frith, Chair of Judges.
“There are eight debut albums on the list and four albums from more established artists. The sheer range of music here celebrates the abiding ability of British musicians to find new ways to explore traditional themes of love and loss while making an exhilarating soundtrack for life in 2012.”
This year will see the Prize introduce a new series of exclusive one-off gigs featuring the shortlisted artists being held ahead of the Awards Show on 1 November.
The 2012 Albums of the Year are:
Alt-J An Awesome Wave
Ben Howard Every Kingdom
Django Django Django Django
Field Music Plumb
Jessie Ware Devotion
Lianne La Havas Is Your Love Big Enough?
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
The Maccabees Given to the Wild
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