The reason why the Mercury shortlist gets us going every year is tied in with the improbable survival of the format that it celebrates. The album is an art form brought into being by the limitations of the medium for which it was designed; two sides of vinyl totalling 50 minutes.

With the growth of digital sales we are now free to handpick the songs we like. But there’s something about the album that still appeals. Last year there was a 126 per cent growth in digital album sales, while sales of individual downloads only rose by 77 per cent. This year’s shortlist is a reminder of why the format endures. Heard individually, the Young Knives’ tales of small-town ennui are fine, but the cumulative effect of the songs on their Voices of Animals & Men places Henry Dartnall somewhere between Mark E. Smith and Ray Davies in the British pantheon.

It takes a similar leap of faith to immerse yourself in Jamie T’s streetwise serenades, Fionn Regan’s hushed baroque vignettes, the Klaxons’ lysergic positivism and Bat for Lashes’ otherworldly siren songs. One lingering criticism that the Mercury has never addressed is its veneration of everything new. Certainly, it’s hard to think of any other reason why the View made the list. The Bees’ recent Octopus album was far better than the debut that earned them a 2002 nomination — but they didn’t make the shortlist; ditto The Electric Soft Parade with No Need To Be Downhearted.

Still Arctic Monkeys, Amy Winehouse and Dizzee Rascal deserve to be back. The only baffling omission is The Good The Bad & The Queen, the opus of Damon Albarn’s unnamed band.

Arctic Monkeys
Favourite Worst Nightmare

Don’t be surprised if they win again after excising the teenage tinniness from their sound

The View
Hats off to the Buskers

Very average boozy, post-Libertines, proletarian, consolation rock. Baffling to see it here

Dizzee Rascal
Maths + English

Prodigious East End of London talent runs the gamut of urban sub-genres and sounds fresher than ever

Amy Winehouse
Back to Black

Second album was a critical and commercial smash and is out-and-out favourite to win

Klaxons
Myths of the Near Future

Ebullient pop opus from the “nu-rave” trio

Jamie T
Panic Prevention

Kindred Lily Allen set by her chum from Wimbledon

The Young Knives
Voices of Animals and Men

Ennui-inspired pop masterpiece

Fionn Regan
The End of History

Acoustic troubadour looks a good outside bet

Bat for Lashes
Fur and Gold

Natasha Khan follows in the footsteps of Kate Bush

Basquiat Strings with Seb Rochford

Polar Bear drummer with string quartet

Maps
We Can Create

Might just kick off a long overdue shoe-gazing revival

New Young Pony Club
Fantastic Playroom

Nu-rave with moreish appeal

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