Yes, folks, we're officially in the thick of Polaris Music Prize season. Last month, the prestigious Canadian award unveiled the long list for its 2011 instalment, whose top prize is worth $30,000 (up from $20,000 in past years). Today (July 6), the organizers announced the short list.
These are the top ten Canadians albums from the past calendar year (June 2010 to May 2011), as decided by a jury of journalists, bloggers and broadcasters from across the country. The choices are based on artistic merit alone, with no regard to sales or label affiliation. This year, all artists on this short list will get a $2,000 prize.
The short list contenders for this year's Polaris Music Prize are, in alphabetical order:
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Austra - Feel It Break
Braids - Native Speaker
Destroyer - Kaputt
Galaxie - Tigre et Diesel
Hey Rosetta! - Seeds
Ron Sexsmith - Long Player Late Bloomer
Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
Timber Timbre - Creep on Creepin' On
The Weeknd - House of Balloons
Many may see Arcade Fire's The Suburbs as the frontrunner here. After all, it topped the Billboard charts the week of its release, won a Grammy and was Exclaim!'s favourite pop and rock album of last year. Then again, few could have predicated Karkwa's 2010 victory, so this is still anyone's game.
The grand jury will announce the winner on September 19 at CTV's Concert Hall studios in Toronto's Masonic Temple.
Other past winners are: Final Fantasy for He Poos Clouds (2006), Patrick Watson for Close to Paradise (2007), Caribou for Andorra (2008) and Fucked Up for The Chemistry of Common Life (2009).
These are the top ten Canadians albums from the past calendar year (June 2010 to May 2011), as decided by a jury of journalists, bloggers and broadcasters from across the country. The choices are based on artistic merit alone, with no regard to sales or label affiliation. This year, all artists on this short list will get a $2,000 prize.
The short list contenders for this year's Polaris Music Prize are, in alphabetical order:
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Austra - Feel It Break
Braids - Native Speaker
Destroyer - Kaputt
Galaxie - Tigre et Diesel
Hey Rosetta! - Seeds
Ron Sexsmith - Long Player Late Bloomer
Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
Timber Timbre - Creep on Creepin' On
The Weeknd - House of Balloons
Many may see Arcade Fire's The Suburbs as the frontrunner here. After all, it topped the Billboard charts the week of its release, won a Grammy and was Exclaim!'s favourite pop and rock album of last year. Then again, few could have predicated Karkwa's 2010 victory, so this is still anyone's game.
The grand jury will announce the winner on September 19 at CTV's Concert Hall studios in Toronto's Masonic Temple.
Other past winners are: Final Fantasy for He Poos Clouds (2006), Patrick Watson for Close to Paradise (2007), Caribou for Andorra (2008) and Fucked Up for The Chemistry of Common Life (2009).