Nine of the most important Australian albums of 2018 have been shortlisted for the 14th annual Australian Music Prize (AMP), whittled down from an initial longlist of 85, with the eventual winner to take home a cool $30,000 in winnings.
It’s being billed as the most eclectic shortlist in the prize’s 14-year history, transcending genre, popularity and politics.
Among the golden list of shortlisted albums — Courtney Barnett’s sophomore effort Tell Me How You Really Feel, The Presets’ “pub rock techno” LP Hi Viz, Rolling Backouts Coastal Fever’s Hope Downs and Gurrumul’s posthumous Djarimirri.
“As each year starts to tick by you think it’ll be easier than the last to settle on the nine. Then the excellent albums start to stack up and the judging panel is again faced with a Herculean task of collectively agreeing – and 2018 was no different,” said judge and journalist, Kate Hennessy.
“Even as people who listen constantly to Australian music, the judges are always surprised by new discoveries, which are by no means always new artists, either. This discovery is one of the prize’s most rewarding and important roles. We are all really proud of the breadth of Australian music evidenced by this year’s shortlist.”
ICYMI: last year’s prize was taken out by Sydney-based artist Sampa the Great for her Birds and the BEE9 LP.
The winner of the 2018 AMP will be announced in Melbourne on Thursday, 7th March. Peep all the shortlisted albums below!
14th Annual Australian Music Prize Shortlist
Abbe May – Fruit
Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel
Dead Can Dance – Dionysus
Grand Salvo – Sea Glass
Gurrumul – Djarimirri
Laura Jean – Devotion
The Presets – Hi Viz
Rolling Backouts Coastal Fever – Hope Downs
Sam Anning – Across A Field As Vast As One
