The nominees for this year's prestigious Panasonic Mercury Music Prize have been announced. The prize is awarded annually to the best British album of the past year, as determined by a panel of high-ranking judges. The nominees usually reflect perfectly the current climate of UK music, and this year's list is no exception:

Doves ‘The Last Broadcast’
The Streets ‘Original Pirate Material’
Miss Dynamite ‘A Little Deeper’
David Bowie ‘Heathen’
Beverley Knight ‘Who I Am’
Roots Manuva ‘Run Come Save Me’
The Coral ‘The Coral’
Electric Soft Parade ‘Holes In The Wall’
The Bees ‘Sunshine Hit Me’
Gemma Hayes ‘Night On My Side’
Joanna MacGregor ‘Play’
Guy Barker ‘Soundtrack’

NME is reporting that bookies have DOVES and THE STREETS as the frontrunners, with current 4:1 odds.