Mercury Prize 2012: should we give the Mercury Prize to America? The first response to nominations for the Barclaycard Mercury Prize 2012 has been a collective critical "meh." All of the artists included are interesting and worthwhile and it seems churlish to disparage their achievements, but as I have already pointed out, Plan B is the only major star making decisively modern music that engages with the big issues of the moment and, like it or loathe it, forces you to have an opinion about it. The real question is whether this list is an accurate assessment of a British music scene that is adrift, self-involved and playing it safe? Because, if so, it surely indicates a decisive shift in the balance of pop power to across the Atlantic. A comparable list of great American albums of the past 12 months would certainly put the Mercurys to shame, capable of drawing on bold efforts from established greats of the calibre of Jack White, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Bobby Womack, Kanye West and Jay Z, zeitgeist stars like Lana Del Rey, Frank Ocean and Alabama Shakes, sonically adventurous bands like Polica, Metric, Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective, and deep maverick talents like Amanda Palmer and Anais Mitchell, all making music that absolutely demands a stronger response than a shrug of the shoulders. You could include adventurous pop stars like Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj who are exploiting the potential of electronic dance sounds pioneered in the UK, and, for that matter, I would certainly include the much maligned Skrillex, who has taken the decidedly British genre of Dubstep and smashed it into a dozen other European dance and rock trends, concocting a stadium-sized brand of electro techno that is also decidedly wonky and inventive. That's a list of talent to make any music fan dizzy, and it is only scraping the surface. The UK prides itself on punching above its weight in pop terms, creatively and commercially. And recently things have been looking good for British artists in the massive American market, with Coldplay reigning supreme as the biggest band in the world, Adele as the biggest selling artist of the decade, and UK talents like Florence and the Machine, Ed Sheeran and even boy band One Direction threatening to stage, if not a new British invasion, then at least a successful incursion. Most of those artists, however, operate in commercial genres that the navel gazing Mercury prize tends to scorn. Part of the problem is that the Mercury prize has never been able to define what it is for, prevaricating between being a barometer of the musical mood and a critical discovery prize for eclectic new talent. If it was really, honestly, about music that matters, trying to find a platform that can be shared by major credible talents of the moment and maverick artists pushing music into exciting new frontiers, it might have looked a bit more like this: Plan B, Richard Hawley, Alt J, Jessie Ware, Django Django (who all made the list), big hitting slightly leftfield stars Coldplay and Florence & The Machine, established veteran talents Kate Bush and Dexys, mainstream pop maverick Marina And The Diamonds, electro auteur Rustie and maybe (just cause I love them) the unfashionable but deep and moving pastoral rock band Dry The River. I would also love to have seen a genuinely popular techno powerhouse like Nero on the list, or slick, chart firing producer Labrinth. If we could have all held our breath and waited a month, maybe we could have squeezed in the xx and Muse. But, frankly, it would still pale next to any US list. Despite the implications of the Mercury Prize, 2012 is shaping up to be a great year for music. Just not, apparently, British music.