Wolf Alice‘s Visions Of A Life has been named the best British or Irish album of the year to win the coveted Mercury Prize, three years after making the shortlist with their debut My Love Is Cool.
The band first rose to prominence in 2014 with their Blush EP, attracting fans through their sublime blend of hard rock and dreamy pop influences, tied together by frontwoman Ellie Roswell’s perfectly balanced vocals. The following year, they released their debut album to much critical acclaim, reaching No. 2 on the UK albums chart and making the shortlist for the 2015 Mercury Prize but falling just short of the prize.
2017’s Visions Of A Life was an all-round improvement for the band, showcasing greater musical range (contrast the raucous ‘Yuk Foo‘ to the serenely beautiful chords and lyricism of ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses‘) and featuring richer, cleaner production and mastering. The album once again reached No. 2 in the UK albums chart, but this time the band have walked away with the Mercury Prize to boot.
Here at The Edge we’re ecstatic, with the album voted our third favourite of last year and their November 2017 gig at Southampton’s O2 Guildhall described as “a flawless performance, saturated with ruthless power and full-frontal emotion.” If you can’t tell, we’re big Wolf Alice fans!
Visions Of A Life fought off new albums from the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Florence + The Machine and Jorja Smith to claim the prize. There was some controversy this year that the nominees were too mainstream, with not enough new and upcoming artists given the recognition some feel they deserve, which could well play into the list of nominees we see for next year’s prize. The night featured performances from Lily Allen, King Krule, and Wolf Alice themselves just moments before they were crowned winners. Arctic Monkeys were notable absentees, instead playing a specially recorded live performance due to their commitment to their ongoing tour.
Check out the full list of nominees below:
- Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
- Everything Everything – A Fever Dream
- Everything is Recorded – Everything is Recorded
- Florence + The Machine – High as Hope
- Jorja Smith – Lost & Found
- King Krule – The Ooz
- Lily Allen – No Shame
- Nadine Shah – Holiday Destination
- Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Who Built the Moon?
- Novelist – Novelist Guy
- Sons of Kemet – Your Queen is a Reptile
- Wolf Alice – Visions Of A Life
Visions Of A Life is available now via Dirty Hit.
