Polaris shortist announced

The Polaris Music Prize shortlisted nominees were announced yesterday, July 6.

The shortlist was compiled by a jury of over 200 Canadian journalists, including Canadian media mogul Alan Cross and CBC favourite Jian Ghomeshi.

The competition has now been narrowed down from the 40 artists that were announced on June 17, leaving ten albums in the running.

In 2006, the first year of the contest, Final Fantasy took home the prize for his album He Poos Clouds. Now, billed under his actual name, Owen Pallett is nominated again for his critically acclaimed effort Heartland.

2008 winner Caribou also made the cut again, alongside big names like Broken Social Scene and Tegan & Sara, as well as Laurier alumnus Shad.

Notable artists that didn’t make the shortlist include Jason Collett (Rat a Tat), Crystal Castles (Crystal Castles II), the New Pornographers (Together) and Plants & Animals (La La Land).

The Polaris Music Prize awards $20,000 to the Canadian artist whose album is deemed the best of the year, regardless of record sales, and the winner will be announced on September 20 at a gala in Toronto, hosted by CBC Radio 3’s Grant Lawrence.

The shortlist:

THE BESNARD LAKES,
The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
(Montréal, QC)

OWEN PALLETT,
Heartland
(Toronto, ON)

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE,
Forgiveness Rock Record
(Toronto, ON)

RADIO RADIO,
Belmundo Regal
(Grosse Coque, NS, Moncton, NB, Pointe-à-l’église, NS)

CARIBOU,
Swim
(Dundas, ON)

THE SADIES,
Darker Circles
(Toronto, ON)

KARKWA,
Les Chemins De Verre
(Montréal, QC)

SHAD,
TSOL
(London, ON)

DAN MANGAN,
Nice, Nice, Very Nice
(Vancouver, BC)

TEGAN AND SARA,
Sainthood
(Vancouver, BC & Montréal, QC)