The second round of nominations for the annual J Awards have been announced, adding to the initial group of acts shortlisted at the start of November.
The J Awards are the official accolades given out by radio station Triple J, celebrating the best of Australian music each year.
The 2012 competition is pretty stiff – among the latest nominees for Australian Album of the Year are The Presets’ critically acclaimed Pacifica (read the Tone Deaf review here,) Oh Mercy’s Deep Heat, indie songstress Sarah Blasko’s I Awake, and Bertie Blackman’s first album in three years Pope Innocent X. Representing the hardcore sector is Parkway Drive’s latest album Atlas, and in the Aussie hip hop corner there’s Urthboy’s Smokey’s Haunt.
They will join favourites to win Tame Impala with their world-conquering Lonerism, Ball Park Music’s popular second album Museum, Hermitude’s dance hit Hyper Paradise, and an album each from Alpine and the Rubens.
The J Awards have only been running for 8 years, but in that time they have become a vital signifier of the best of Australian music, with previous winners including the Hilltop Hoods, Sarah Blasko, Wolfmother, and of course the 2011 winner, Gotye.
“It’s so much cooler than a big pointy metal thing,” Wally de Backer (AKA Gotye) said while accepting the award last year. “But seriously every album on that list is so good I feel thoroughly undeserving but hugely thankful to everyone current and past at Triple J and everyone that listens to the station.”
The judging panel consists of the music team at Triple J, headed up by Music Director Richard Kingsmill, who take note of what listeners are excited about, talking about, requesting & seeing live. Triple J Unearthed producing staff are also involved in the nomination and winner selection of the Unearthed award.
The awards will be broadcast live from Melbourne at 5pm on Friday November 23.
See the full list of nominations below.
AUSTRALIAN ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Presets Pacifica
Urthboy Smokey’s Haunt
Parkway Drive Atlas
Oh Mercy Deep Heat
Sarah Blasko I Awake
Bertie Blackman Pope Innocent X
Regular John Strange Flowers
Tame Impala Lonerism
Alpine A Is For Alpine
Hermitude HyperParadise
Ball Park Music Museum
The Rubens The Rubens
AUSTRALIAN MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Alpine – Hands
Gotye – Easy Way Out
Flight Facilities – Foreign Language
Kirin J Callinan – Way II War
Bertie Blackman – Boy
Hilltop Hoods – Rattling the Keys to the Kingdom
UNEARTHED ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Flume
The Rubens
Chance Waters
Kingswood
Thelma Plum
