English Teacher, a four-member indie band hailing from Leeds, triumphed at the 2024 Mercury Prize, bagging the award for their first album “This Could Be Texas”. The decision was made public at the award presentation, held at London’s Abbey Road Studios, Thursday evening. The function serves to honour outstanding albums of the year from the British and Irish music scene.
English Teacher managed to outshine several other notable artists including pop sensation Charli XCX, who was in the running with her elements studio album “Brat”, Ireland’s CMAT, the emerging talent Cat Burns, and the indie band The Last Dinner Party. CMAT had also earned nomination for her sophomore album “Crazymad, for Me”.
The band members graced the stage to extend their gratitude, featuring the likes of guitarist Lewis Whiting, drummer Douglas Frost, bassist Nicholas Eden and lead singer Lily Fontaine. Lily offered an extra note of thanks to her mother, who was responsible for the album cover art.
The ceremony was hosted by DJ Annie Macmanus and Welsh radio personality Huw Stephens, who introduced the performances from each of the 12 nominated acts.
The judges acknowledged the difficulty of this year’s competition considering the remarkable variation and richness of the submitted albums. However, they ultimately named “This Could Be Texas” by English Teacher for the unique nature of its content, blending in social commentary with a dash of surrealism in its lyrics.
The judges commended the album’s musically refreshing take on the traditional guitar band style, and its capacity to unveil new layers with each listen, making it a future classic.
“Instituted to celebrate albums as distinctive forms of artistic expressions, the Mercury Prize this year too had unanimous agreement that this incredible piece of work deserved to be named the 2024 Mercury Prize Album of the Year.” stated the judges.
An array of initial albums have clinched a place on this year’s shortlist, counting Early Twenties by vocalist Cat Burns, Silence Is Loud by Nia Archives, a creator of jungle music, When Will We Land? by Scottish DJ Barry Can’t Swim, and Who Am I, an album by rapper BERWYN. Ghetts, a Mobo award reciprocate who has featured in Netflix series Supacell, has also secured a spot on the shortlist for the album On Purpose, With Purpose. In addition, Bad With Names by Corto.alto and Lives Outgrown by Beth Gibbons, the lead singer of Portishead, have garnered nominations. Preceding year, Ezra Collective had the honour of being the first jazz band to scoop the Mercury Prize, receiving the prestigious musical accolade for their second studio production, Where I’m Meant To Be. – PA