We had ourselves a little listening party yesterday (and night, sorry for the slow start everyone), but the big fun out of Canada yesterday came via the announcement of the second annual Polaris Music Prize shortlist, the winner of which will succeed He Poos Clouds as the Canadian record of greatest artistic merit, regardless of sales or genre (or titles that refer to cumulonimbus shit formations). Your nominees:
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse
The Dears - Gang Of Losers
Julie Doiron - Woke Myself Up
Feist - The Reminder
Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye
Miracle Fortress - Five Roses
Joel Plaskett Emergency - Ashtray Rock
Chad VanGaalen - Skelliconnection
Patrick Watson - Close To Paradise
The big winner will be announced September 24th at a big getdown in Toronto. And Arcade Fire/Feist may seem like easy faves, but remember that Final Fantasy took out Broken Social Scene and the New Pornographers last year. The Polaris Prize means cash that could jump start a career, so yeah the Besnard Lakes may be the dark horse, but our pick is The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse. Loved 'em live, rooting for 'em here. Play panelist and rank 'em if ya like.
