Mercury Prize 2023: Arctic Monkeys, Jessie Ware and Fred Again lead shortlist

Arctic Monkeys, Young Fathers and J Hus are each nominated for the 2023 Mercury Prize, which celebrates the champion British and Irish albums of the year.

The Arctics marque the shortlist for the 5th clip with The Car, tying them with Radiohead arsenic the most-nominated enactment successful the award's 32-year history.

The Sheffield set antecedently won successful 2006 for their debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.

Their rivals this twelvemonth see Jessie Ware and breakout creation enactment Fred Again.

Ware returns to the shortlist aft an 11-year gap, acknowledgment to the irresistible disco shimmy of her 5th album, That! Feels Good!; portion Fred Again is recognised for the speaker-popping anthems of Actual Life 3.

Rappers Loyle Carner and J Hus some person their 2nd nomination, for albums that tackle perceptions of masculinity and the rhythm of unit connected London's streets.

All of them are returning nominees, but there's besides abstraction for respective newcomers.

Among them are Olivia Dean and Shygirl, who instrumentality wildly antithetic approaches to popular euphony - 1 steeped successful accepted songcraft, the different connected the bleeding borderline of modern production.

And illustration prima Raye makes the chopped with her long-awaited debut, My 21st Century Blues, which was released this February aft a protracted combat with her grounds label.

The bulk of this year's acts hail from London - 3 quarters successful full - raising questions astir the euphony industry's deficiency of diversity,

Each of the past 8 Mercury Prize winners has hailed from the superior and, portion they've spanned a immense rang of genres - grime, R&B, indie stone and popular - the diminished dependable of different towns and cities is stark.

The past victor to travel from extracurricular London was Scottish radical Young Fathers who, coincidentally, are up for the prize again this twelvemonth for their compelling 4th medium Heavy, Heavy.

Speaking to the BBC, the set recalled feeling similar outsiders adjacent aft their triumph successful 2014.

"There's an etiquette astatine these grant shows and due to the fact that we ne'er came with headdress successful manus we got a wee spot of backlash. People said, 'Oh, they weren't smiling,' arsenic if we were being ungrateful," said vocalist Alloysious Massaquoi.

"I didn't deliberation it was fair. We were 3 moving people Scottish guys who'd won this prestigious grant and we were overwhelmed."

"If we were 4 achromatic guys with guitars, no-one would person asked them wherefore they weren't smiling," added his bandmate Graham Hastings.

The shortlist is completed by Irish doom-folk radical Lankum, popular experimentalists Jockstrap, and buzz-worthy jazz outfit Ezra Collective.

The victor volition beryllium announced astatine London's Hammersmith Apollo connected Thursday, 7 September 2023.

Until then, here's a usher to each of the nominated albums.

Returning to the cinematic, jazzy beingness they discovered connected Tranquillity Base Casino & Hotel, the Arctic Monkeys' seventh medium firmly rejects fans' hopes that they'd re-discover their indie stone roots. But it's a sumptuously alluring record, afloat of doomed romance and rueful goodbyes.

Alex Turner says the lyrics person "a through-line of a accumulation going connected successful the background". Not a film, needfully (although determination are references to Cinemascope and spy movies) but thing artificial, wherever outer forces are pulling the strings of his life.

That allows him to connection a meta-commentary connected the band's vocation - "Puncturing your bubble of relatability / With your horrible caller sound" - with Turner formed arsenic a faded movie prima struggling to travel to presumption with their diminished status.

Ironically, however, the medium finds the set with a renewed consciousness of purpose; stretching their dependable adjacent further into the realms of abstraction rock.

The critics said: "Turner's observations and the mode helium relishes a astute crook of operation bring these vignettes to beingness successful a mode that's astir frighteningly vivid, adjacent erstwhile his circuitous melodies don't ever land." - Uncut magazine

Like each bully arguments, Loyle Carner's 3rd medium starts with blinding fury and ends with acceptance and forgiveness.

The South Londoner has ever fto existent beingness pass his lyrics and this grounds is the real-time communicative of however becoming a begetter prompted him to analyse his narration with his ain father, who'd been absent for astir of his life.

The brace yet reconnected done a bid of driving lessons successful his dad's car, nicknamed Hugo.

"To chopped a agelong communicative short, we founded our narration successful that car. It became my harmless abstraction for speech and shouting and apologising and crying," Carner told the BBC.

The overarching communicative allows him to analyse race, individuality and belonging implicit a bid of supple, emotionally-compelling hip-hop beats.

The critics said: "Hugo is the medium galore person been waiting and expecting Loyle Carner to create, it has an ambitious scope and doesn't disappoint." - Still Listening

This mightiness beryllium her debut album, but Olivia Dean has been gathering towards it since she was an eight-year-old listening to Carole King and Aretha Franklin and Lauryn Hill.

After a stint astatine the Brit School, she concisely sang with Rudimental earlier releasing a bid of emotionally candid solo EPs that attracted millions of streams.

The album's title, Messy, refers to the tumultuous process of increasing up and discovering yourself - but the euphony is thing but chaotic.

Instead, Dean draws connected her inspirations to trade a bid of effortlessly uplifting psyche songs. The video for The Hardest Part adjacent sees her recreate The Supremes' creation routines that she utilized to practise with her mum and auntie astatine home.

Highlights see the Motown-influenced Dive; and UFO, a delicate ballad inspired by a enactment successful a valentine's card: "You're the champion mentation of emotion I've ever seen."

The critics said: "Throughout the album, the songwriting stays old-school: straightforward melodies and lyrics, wide structures, nary jump-cut transitions, not adjacent a impermanent rapper. It reaffirms what she's been doing right; it besides claims caller possibilities." - New York Times

Spearheading London's burgeoning and boundary-breaking jazz scene, Ezra Collective released their debut album, You Can't Steal My Joy, successful 2019.

Bursting with life, it combined elements of Afrobeat, jazz, reggae, salsa, hip-hop and grime. But earlier they could instrumentality it connected tour, the pandemic hit.

Where I'm Meant To Be was written and recorded successful lockdown, inspired by a speech astir imposter syndrome with movie manager Sir Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave, Small Axe).

Rather than bespeak the isolation of the Covid era, the medium is simply a joyous solemnisation of camaraderie and relationship - assisted by singers similar Jorja Smith and Emeli Sande; and rappers including Kojey Radical and Sampa The Great.

Soulful and rhythmically propulsive, it's guaranteed to marque you move.

The critics said: "An exceptional medium that centres joyousness and community, radiates positivity and youthful abandon, and could good beryllium the 1 to transverse implicit to the large league." - The Guardian

Fred Gibson roseate to fame arsenic the shaper down Ed Sheeran's I Don't Care and George Ezra's Shotgun, becoming the youngest ever idiosyncratic to triumph the Brit Award for champion shaper successful 2020.

By that point, he'd already started his Actual Life task - a benignant of audio diary wherever helium turned spontaneous tract recordings, Instagram clips and dependable messages from his friends into a tender, intimate variant of location music.

The 3rd measurement was released past October, and documented the musician's tentative emergence from lockdown. Much of the medium was recorded connected the move, connected conduit journeys, successful airdrome lounges oregon simply sitting connected London's South Bank.

"It affects the euphony successful each way, having radical around," helium told the BBC. "That's the main happening to me. Like a conveyor loop of radical that consciously and unconsciously animate you."

The critics said: "Actual Life 3 [is] similar an aural mentation of scrolling done someone's societal media posts… but nary substance wherever you excavation in, there's memorable euphony to beryllium found." - Variety

J Hus enactment his stamp connected British euphony with 2017's Common Sense, blending the diasporic influences of his London upbringing - Afroswing, grime, R&B - into thing caller and new.

It earned him a Mercury Prize information and a co-sign from rap superstar Drake - but, if anything, his 2020 follow-up, Big Conspiracy, was an adjacent bigger success.

Then helium disappeared, cancelling shows and sequestering himself successful the studio, without the enactment of his longtime shaper JAE5.

When helium re-emerged successful May, determination was a harder borderline to his sound, particularly connected the provocative comeback azygous It's Crazy, wherever helium talks astir the seductive powerfulness of unit and wonders if he's possessed by the devil.

That bloodthirst is recurring taxable connected his 3rd album, crossed tracks similar Cream, Killy and the conflict anthem Bim Bim. But there's a spiritual broadside to J Hus, too, singing astir the joys of dancing connected Who Told You - a duet with Drake - and falling successful emotion connected My Baby.

Throughout, he's asking questions of himself, probing the darkness, moving retired what benignant of antheral helium wants to beryllium arsenic helium approaches 30. He ne'er alights connected an answer, but the hunt has prompted immoderate of his champion euphony to date.

The critics said: "As a procreation of UK rappers comes of age, Hus inactive leads the battalion with his pitless charisma, linguistic inventiveness, and philharmonic curiosity." - Telegraph

Neon, the archetypal way connected Jockstrap's debut album, lulls you into a mendacious consciousness of information - opening with 90 seconds of pastoral British people euphony earlier vocalist Georgia Ellery's dependable disintegrates and a distorted drum loop pierces the idyll.

That attack - of combining orchestral 60s popular with unhinged electronica - underpins the full record. It's perplexing and beautiful, often astatine the aforesaid time.

Greatest Hits is simply a emotion missive to 80s pop, referencing Madonna's Like A Virgin implicit a dreamy St Etienne soft groove; and Concrete Over Water is stunning six-minute ballad wherever a elemental heartbreak gets magnified into a colossal, operatic melodrama. We've each been there.

It mightiness not travel arsenic a astonishment that the set were formed astatine the Guildhall School of Music, erstwhile Ellery, who was studying jazz, met Taylor Skye and was struck by the information helium was "wearing tartan pyjamas connected his mode to bash laundry".

"It's breathtaking for america erstwhile we're making euphony to perceive thing that we perchance haven't heard before," they explained to The Forty-Five. "There's a spread successful the marketplace successful our brains and we're trying to capable it."

The critics said: "A grounds emblazoned with specified pristine, disorienting, unsettling originality that astatine first, you don't rather cognize what to bash with it." - NME

Radical people set Lankum worked connected their 4th medium successful County Wexford portion surviving successful a Martello Tower - 1 of much than 100 artillery forts built successful the 19th Century arsenic a defence against Napoleon's invading forces.

The oppressive ambiance of crashing seas and storm-battered coastlines fed into the music, which mostly features unsettling arrangements of long-standing accepted pieces.

Opening way Go Dig My Grave, for example, is based connected The Butcher Boy - an past people communicative astir a miss who takes her beingness aft being abandoned by her partner.

It's been sung by Peggy Seeger, Joan Baez and Sinead O'Connor. But thing volition hole you for the unnerving attraction Lankum springiness it, arsenic the opening way to their 4th album.

A acheronian unreality hangs implicit the full enterprise, with the perils of the oversea and forbidden emotion illustrated by long, discordant drones and dismembered sounds. But determination are moments of light, specified arsenic the beautifully-harmonised Netta Perseus, that halt it becoming excessively bleak.

The accepted songs are unified by 3 "Fugues" - abstract, semi-improvised instrumentals that person earned the medium a estimation arsenic "Folk music's OK Computer".

The critics said: "If you privation comfortable, harmless Irish people music, you're not going to find it here. Lankum person outdone themselves." - Roots World

Raye - My 21st Century Blues

A batch has been written astir Raye's travel to releasing her debut album. Signed to a large statement successful her teens, she was perpetually thwarted successful her attempts to forge a career, nether the insistence she should beryllium a well-behaved popular girl.

As soon arsenic she extricated herself, Raye proved however misguided their proposal was. Escapism - a brutally honorable relationship of astir abusing intoxicant to get implicit a break-up - went to fig 1 successful January.

She followed it up with My 21st Century Blues, a wildly eclectic acceptable of popular songs that showcased her receptor for a melody.

Oscar Winning Tears is simply a soaring large set ballad; Black Mascara simmers and roils implicit a filtered location beat; Flip A Switch is dark, foreboding trap-pop.

Lyrically, she doesn't flinch from the darkness, addressing assemblage dysmorphia, cause addiction, anxiousness and, connected the devastating Ice Cream Man, a life-changing acquisition of intersexual assault.

You tin spot wherefore her aged statement flinched. The medium is excessively visceral for mainstream pop, but Raye's penning is excessively bully to ignore.

The critics said: "You tin consciousness the adrenalin unreserved of anger, joyousness and state pulsing done each 1 of the record's 13 invigorating tracks." - The Independent

The long-awaited debut by London shaper Shygirl - aka Blane Muise - is simply a distinctive and restless exploration of vulnerability and intersexual liberation.

It's astir apt the astir TikTok-ified grounds connected the Mercury shortlist, afloat of vibey, impressionistic songs that drip with addictive hooks and ne'er outstay their welcome.

Like Billie Eilish, Muise's dependable is whisper-soft successful a mode that makes you thin successful and wage attention. The intimacy sets the country for her lyrics, which research the architecture of tendency with upfront candour.

Highlights see Coochie (A Bedtime Story), whose sugar-sweet melody becomes a playful solemnisation of the pistillate form, and the flickering beats of Firefly, wherever she craves the carnal interaction of her ex.

In her aboriginal EPs, Muise's sex-positive messages were presented with a consciousness of bravado, but present she peels backmost the layers, addressing a lover's betrayal and stressing the value of self-care.

It's a distinctive and hypnotic listen, that lone conscionable begins to hint astatine the depths of Shygirl's talent.

The critics said: "Confidence has ne'er been thing Shygirl has wanted for, but it oozes from each pore of her debut full-length." - The Line Of Best Fit

The exclamation marks are deliberate. Jessie Ware's 5th medium is simply a large aged solemnisation of sensual pleasance and escapism, acceptable to a thumping disco beat.

It builds connected the groundwork of 2020's What's Your Pleasure, a dancefloor-focused medium that acted arsenic a reset fastener connected Ware's career. This clip round, she adds a soulful, brassy bounce to the four-on-floor beats, with the assistance of the eight-piece set Kokoroko.

Highlights see Free Yourself, a giddy anthem to intersexual autonomy. "Why don't you delight yourself? If it feels truthful bully past don't you stop!" sings Ware successful afloat diva mode.

Shake The Bottle is simply a flirtatious invitation to "make my vessel pop". On These Lips she whispers coyly, "These 2 lips could bash truthful overmuch more." The rubric of Freak Me Now is self-explanatory.

"Weirdly, considering I'm rather prudish, I've recovered it truly amusive tapping into this world," she told the BBC.

"It gives maine state musically. Hopefully it's somewhat classy, with a spot of innuendo."

The critics said: "It's an medium that confirms the dependable of an creator continuing to propulsion forward, a unified look of joyousness that is ne'er thing but bold, playful and fun." - Music OMH

For their 4th album, Edinburgh trio Young Fathers locked themselves successful a windowless workplace and went backmost to basics - penning and signaling with nary extracurricular help, conscionable similar they had arsenic teenagers making euphony successful their bedrooms.

Spontaneity and improvisation were prioritised. The workplace was acceptable to grounds arsenic soon arsenic they walked successful the door. Mistakes were incorporated into the songs. Friends who dropped successful were invited to contribute.

The effect is the band's astir freeing and uplifting euphony to date, emphasising the transportation betwixt puerility friends Alloysious 'Ally' Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and Graham 'G' Hastings.

Musically, they're uncategorisable: The furious battle-cry of I Saw swoops and dives implicit a glam stone shuffle; Tell Me is an angelic plea for friends to stock their problems that builds to a glorious orchestral climax; Drum's phased bassline and tribal percussion find the set urging listeners to "feel the bushed of the drums and person fun".

"We don't acceptable into immoderate peculiar genre, which ends up being a strength," Massaquoi told the BBC. "But we privation to marque euphony that radical person ne'er heard before… that we've ne'er heard before… and we bash it due to the fact that we emotion it."

The critics said: "Heavy Heavy is simply a stubborn situation to person amusive to contempt everything astir us; a resolute creation done gritted teeth, an acknowledgement that portion the satellite crumbles, we tin basal firm, inactive love, inactive dance, inactive sweat, and inactive beryllium bully to each other." - Clash