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The British music industry’s award for outstanding albums features eight debuts, from the likes of Nia Archives and Barry Can’t Swim, as the prize fails to find a sponsorCharli xcx has crowned the so-called summer of Brat – the name of her sixth album album, whose lurid green aesthetic has even reached the US presidential race – with a nomination for this year’s Mercury prize. It is the Hertfordshire musician’s second nod, following one in 2020 for her lockdown album, How I’m Feeling Now.She is one of four musicians nominated this year to have been previously recognised by the UK music industry’s flagship prize for albums by British and Irish artists, alongside Trinidad-born, London-raised rapper Berwyn, for his debut album Who Am I (following a nod for his mixtape Demotape/Vega in 2021); Leeds songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae, for her fourth album, the psychedelic opus Black Rainbows; and London rapper Ghetts, for his fourth album On Purpose, With Purpose. Continue reading...