The much vaunted Australian Music Prize has released its full list of nominated albums, with 107 releases making the cut for the prize’s 15th anniversary year. But there’s a notable lack of imagination when it comes to WA releases, with only five (admittedly all very deserving) inclusions from high profile artists Stella Donnelly, POND, Methyl Ethel, Lucky Oceans and The Money War. This flies in the face of the other creative inclusions and indie artists from other states.
With an overhauled judging process in 2019, 40 judges participated in creating the list of Australian albums and will spend the holiday period listening and re-listening to create a shortlist of nine, which will be revealed in January ahead of the winner’s announcement next March.
These albums, culled from over 450 released across the year, nominate the best albums of the year judged on artistic merit alone. Those albums then make up the list of official nominations and after intensively listening to the nine shortlisted albums, the judges meet in March to discuss and select a winner for the $30,000 cash prize. Inspired by the UK’s Mercury Prize, the Australian Music Prize has become one of the most respected music awards in Australia.
Nominees – 2019
Ainslie Wills – All You Have Is All You Need
Air Land Sea – Air Land Sea
Alex Lahey – The Best of Luck Club
Ali Barter – Hello, I’m Doing My Best
Amyl & the Sniffers – Amyl & the Sniffers
Alex Cameron – Miami Memory
Allday – Starry Night Over The Phone
Andrea Keller – Transients Volume 1
Angie McMahon – Salt
Archie Roach – Tell Me Why
Art of Fighting – Luna Low
Ausmuteants – Present The World In Handcuffs
Bad//Dreems – Doomsday Ballet
Batts – The Grand Tour
Belle Chen – Departure
Bench Press – Not the Past, Can’t Be the Future
Black Lung – The Great Manipulator
Brightness – Brightness
Carla Dal Forno – Look Up Sharp
Ceres – We Are A Team
Charlie Collins – Snowpine
Chelsea Wilson – Chasing Gold
Collarbones – Futurity
Cool Sounds – More To Enjoy
Corin – Manifest
Cub Sport – Cub Sport
Daggy Man – I’m Going To Love As Long As I Live
Deborah Conway & Willy Zygier – The Words Of Men
Dispossessed – Warpath Never Ended
Dope Lemon – Smooth Big Cat
Dying Adolescence – Please Be Kind
Dyson Stringer Cloher – Dyson Stringer Cloher
DZ Deathrays – Positive Rising: Part 1
Elizabeth – The Wonderful World of Nature
Emma Russack – Winter Blues
Exek – Some Beautiful Species Left
Ferla – It’s Personal
Gena Rose Bruce – Can’t Make You Love Me
Godtet – II
Gold Fields – Dalawa
Grace Cummings – Refuge Cove
Hatchie – Keepsake
Hermitude – Pollyanarchy
Hexdebt – Rule Of Four
Holy Holy – My Own Pool Of Light
HTRK – Venus In Leo
Huntly – Low Grade Buzz
I Know Leopard – Love Is A Landmine
J. McFarlane’s Reality Guest – TA DA
Jade Imagine – Basic Love
Jess Ribeiro – Love Hate
Jimmy Barnes – My Criminal Record
Jo Schornikow – Secret Weapon
Julia Jacklin – Crushing
June Jones – Diana
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Fishing for Fishies
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Infest the Rats’ Nest
Kirin J Callinan – Return To The Centre
Laurence Pike – Holy Spring
Lachlan Denton & Studio Magic – A Brother
Low Life – Downer EDN
Lucky Oceans – Purple Sky
Lucy Roleff – Left Open In A Room
Lupa J – Swallow Me Whole
Mansionair – Shadowboxer
Married Man – Hard Bargain
Martin Frawley – Undone At 31
Methyl Ethel – Triage
Montaigne – Complex
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Ghosteen
No Mono – Islands (Part 2)
Olympia – Flamingo
On Diamond – On Diamond
Oren Ambarchi – Simian Angel
Parsnip – When the Tree Bears Fruit
Paul Mac – Mesmerism
Phil Slater – The Dark Pattern
Polish Club – Iguana
Pond – Tasmania
Possible Humans – Everybody Split
Rainbow Chan – Pillar
Robert Forster – Inferno
Russell Morris – Black & Blue Heart
Ry X – Unfurl
Sampa The Great – The Return
Sarah Mary Chadwick – Queen Who Stole The Sky
Skydeck – Eureka Moment
Sleep D – Rebel Force
Sports Bra – Talk It Out
Squaring Circles – Motion
Stella Donnelly – Beware of the Dogs
Stonefield – Bent
Sui Zhen – Losing, Linda
Sunbeam Sound Machine – Goodness Gracious
The Beasts – Still Here
The Money War – Home
The Snakes – The Snakes
Thelma Plum – Better In Blak
These New South Whales – I Just Do What God Tells Me To Do
Tropical Fuck Storm – Braindrops
Two People – First Body
U-Bahn – U-Bahn
Underground Lovers – A Left Turn
Vulture St. Tape Gang – More Mature Themes For Childish People
Waax – Big Grief
We Lost The Sea – Triumph & Disaster
Wilson Tanner – II
The Australian Music Prize winner is revealed in March, with shortlisted nominees announced in January.
