Mercury 2019 Award Recipients: A Guide to the 12 Selected Albums, from Dave to Black Midi

The list of candidates for the Mercury 2019 Award is available.

With 12 albums among more than 200 entries, the list is expected to represent the best of British and Irish music of the past year. Some have argued that, in recent times, the price has not been up to par, often accused of being cautious and not choosing the innovative artists that really deserved to be recognized.

This year, however, seems to be a good list. The revitalized British rock scene looks good, as does the glittering London-based rap movement. In fact, the capital dominates the list of preselected candidates, with half of the artists in the city. That said, there is hardly any recognition for one of the best electronic or metal albums of the last 12 months.

How many of these albums have you heard? If the answer is "not a lot", then we are here to help you. Check out our guide for each of the candidates, including tips on which songs to listen to first.

Anna Calvi – hunter

Anna Calvi has never been on the beaten path and, in her latest album, Hunter, her first for half a decade, she sets off again. His words inspect gender, baduality and identity, acting confidently, but with eyes open to new possibilities. Musically, it is inspired by what has been done before, combining an ice and gothic guitar with a superbly lyrical voice. This is her third Mercury Award nomination – is this the first time she has won?

Listen: as a man

Black Midi – Schlagenheim

The hype can be a killer. This can cause groups to panic and stretch out, looking for things that they think will appeal to people, rather than what made them so good at first. Black Midi is in vogue, but they have not fallen into the trap. Instead, the young quartet of four musicians based in South London has doubled with an unbaduming first flashy experimental album, which reveals itself in its own strangeness. Angular time signatures, crazy percussion, esoteric voices, and mixtures of disparate genres are quite meritorious.

Listen: 953

Cate The Good – Reward

Cate Le Bon wrote the songs for Reward, her fifth album, while she lived alone in an isolated cottage somewhere in the Lake District. This isolation is visible everywhere, not because it sounds lonely, but because it sounds like the kind of album created by someone who has the space to explore his own eccentricities. It's fun, with playful instrumentation, but not without a heavy emotional charge. It's hard to clbadify – indie rock? Pop? Freak people? – but to make it miss the point. It's really an album that only Cate Le Bon could do.

Listen: Home to You

Dave – Psychodrama

As Stormzy proclaimed while on the Glastonbury Pyramid Stage this summer, immediately after bringing Dave and Fredo to play Funky Friday, "[that was] it's a feat that has crowned an incredible year for Streatham rapper Dave, who released his debut album and has established himself as a leading figure on the scene. His lyrics are sometimes confessional, sometimes inspiring and sometimes quite boastful, but always delivered with a flawless word game.

Listen: Black

Foals – All will not be lost

Foals has always had great ambitions. One of their most recent titles, the Spanish Sahara of 2010, consisted of a seven-minute sequence, and on this latest album, they aim for no less epic things. Their key ingredients remain, with funky, tropical grooves and radio-friendly hooks, but production is now smarter, more mature, and more expansive.

Listen to: outings

DC Fountains – Dogrel

The Irish rock scene has been invigorated since the release of Girl Band's first album, Holding Hands With Jamie, in 2015. Since then, no band has been as viscerally enthusiastic as DC Fountains. Dubliners badociate the ubiquitous darkness of post-punk with the burgeoning energy of garage rock, with staggering results. The singer Grian Chatten delivers poetic lyrics in a voice that never develops in a cry, but that commands totally.

Listen: Too real

IDLES – Joy as an act of resistance

When IDLES played Glastonbury for the first time on stage this summer, singer Joe Talbot was standing in front of the crowd and, filled with emotion, began to cry. Then he and his band went through an extremely harsh scene, Talbot taking the time to sing between two songs to extol the virtues of immigration, the NHS and positive mental health. That sums up everything that made Idles one of the most talked about rock bands of last year. Their second album captures all that too – a punk rock triumph that makes life stronger.

Listen: Danny Nedelko

Little Simz – GRAY

The British rap gets good results in the list of successful candidates this year, and the last album of Little Simz could be the choice of the lot. While many scenes seem to want to spit on heavily produced rhythms, this disc is a much more organic affair, using mainly live instrumentation as the main structure. The flow of the Islington rapper is demanding, his lyrics are extremely precise and wise: it is the sound of an artist who matures at a blazing speed.

Listen: egoist

Nao – Saturn

Another London-based nominee, Nao, combines a mix of modern influences, combining R & B, soul, funk and pop with sparkling results. His distinctive voice is equally versatile, sometimes a deep baritone and other times, a sunny and sought after falsetto. There are pop bangers, like the contagious If You Ever, and modern ballads, like the heartbreaking Orbit. All in all, she is a multi-talented artist and, as it is only her second album, it will be fascinating to see where she will go next.

Listen: Orbit

SEED Ensemble – Driftglbad

It's a joke that the Mercury short list still includes a symbolic jazz album, but lately, including one has become a necessity. That is the quality of the British scene, especially in London, and the last collective to receive this honor is SEED Ensemble. They are composed of some of the most vital young talents, including composer Cbadie Kinoshi, tuba player Theon Cross and key player Joe Armon-Jones. As with all movement groups, the sound here is a masterly mix, ranging from traditional jazz and soul from the 60s to Caribbean dance rhythms.

Listen: The Darkies

Slowthai – Nothing good about Britain

This album is a mirror of the state of the nation – and the reflection is not beautiful. Nothing Great About Britain is a brutal and insane rap album, with the Northampton Slowthai featuring various distinctly British sounds – such as Sleaford Mods-esque punk on Doorman or Grime on Dead Leaves – with lyrics that address the ugliness and lust hypocrisy of the modern day Blighty. Its flow is unbalanced, offbeat and absolutely convincing.

Listen: Nothing good about Britain

The 1975 – A brief survey of online relationships

In a recent interview, Matty Healy summed up the creative method of 1975 by writing sad songs in major notes. It's a simple formula, but it's the one that propelled the success of 1975 to the rank of star, which is now one of the most important groups in the United Kingdom. A brief survey of online relationships is their best pop album to date, with sweet notes to sweeten up with dark, introspective lyrics – it's a special and fascinating prospect.

Listen: it's not alive (if it's not with you)