The Mercury Prize is a prestigious music prize, celebrating the best of the best of British and Irish music by identifying the top 12 ‘Albums of the Year’, whittled down from nearly 250 contenders. The prize prides itself on identifying underrated artists from all genres and even if these albums do not win, the status that comes with being nominated is huge with smaller artists seeing a rise in album and ticket sales. In 2024 the shortlist included:
Barry Can't Swim: ‘When Will We Land?’
BERWYN: ‘Who Am I’
Beth Gibbons: ‘Lives Outgrown’
Cat Burns: ‘early twenties’
Charli xcx: ‘BRAT’
CMAT: ‘Crazymad, for Me’
Corinne Bailey Rae: ‘Black Rainbows’
corto.alto: ‘Bad with Names’
English Teacher: ‘This Could Be Texas’
Ghetts: ‘On Purpose, With Purpose’
Nia Archives: ‘Silence Is Loud’
The Last Dinner Party: 'Prelude to Ecstasy'
On 5 September, English Teacher were announced to have won the Mercury Prize with their debut album This Could Be Texas. The Leeds band are the first winners outside of the London area to win since 2014. Having listened to this album many times, it is obvious why they came out on top. Their sound can be identified as a combination of folk and post-punk. I’d say it can be described as a concoction of Yard Act, Black Country, New Road, and Wet Leg.
I think the reason why this album is so special is because of its storytelling and social commentary paired with brilliantly original and fresh instrumentation, keeping you guessing throughout each track. One highlight of This Could Be Texas is their 2021 single, ‘R&B’, which is what first brought attention to the band online. It tells the frontwoman, Lily Fontaine’s, story of being a woman of colour in music and the expectations of her because of her skin colour. She states that “Despite appearances, I haven’t got the voice for R&B/Even though I’ve seen more Colour Shows than KEXPs’ and that she’s ‘been writing R&B but I should be writing for me.”
My personal favourites from this album include ‘Broken Biscuits’, which is a brilliant criticism of the government and its negligence causing rising prices, a failing NHS and societal breakdown. The instrumentation builds throughout the track and reflects Fontaine’s exasperation with the political climate. Furthermore, This Could Be Texas is covered in cultural and personal references, paying homage to the bands’ childhood. ‘Mastermind Specialism’ and ‘Sideboob’ show this with references to romantic poets “Byron and Shelley”, as well as the line “Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy,” referencing a childrens’ nursery rhyme. More specifically, Fontaine looks back on her childhood when she talks about Pendle Hill and Boulsworth in Lancashire, close to where she was raised in Colne. These links to the band’s upbringing really makes this record special due to how personalised and individual these lyrics are; seemingly making the album for them rather than the listeners.
From a musical perspective as well, it is so technically interesting, with key and time signature changes. This is best exhibited on ‘Not Everybody Gets to Go to Space’, which opens with a very polarising electronic, futuristic soundscape, as if the listener is being beamed up to space. It also features such varied tempos, syncopation and driving basslines, making this song much more unique than any other on the album. Thus demonstrating that as well as immense songwriting talent, English Teacher has amazing musical prowess.
Despite the power of BRAT this summer and other brilliant artists who were nominated (one of my other favourites is Ghetts’ On Purpose, With Purpose), English Teacher encapsulates everything the Mercury Prize stands for: highlighting new talent and celebrating originality in music. If you want to catch one of their shows, they are playing in Manchester and Newcastle in mid November, and are performing at Live at Leeds in the City on Saturday 16 November.
