Canada's top music honour, the Polaris Prize, will be awarded at Toronto's Masonic Temple on Monday night. Founded in 2006, the $20,000 award is given to the best Canuck CD of the year, as chosen by journalists, bloggers and broadcasters. The ceremony itself has become one of the most raucous nights on the musical calendar.
Any homegrown band or artist can enter the contest, regardless of notoriety -- many entrants don't even have record deals. The winner, which is chosen by a jury of 10 on the night of the gala, is typically a bit of shocker. Last year, brash Toronto punks F---ed Up took the prize for The Chemistry of Common Life.
Here's a cheat sheet for this year's Polaris short list.
The Besnard Lakes, The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
From: Montreal
Sound: Ghostly avant-rock
Polaris experience: nominated in 2007 (for The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse)
Chances of winning: Slight.
Broken Social Scene, Forgiveness Rock Record
From: Toronto
Sound: Epic, urgent, emotional post-rock
Polaris experience: nominated in 2006 (for their self-titled album)
Chances of winning: Extremely good - because BSS are one of Canada's most beloved acts, because they've never won before and because Forgiveness Rock Record is a ripping good album. But handing the prize to Broken Social Scene would be predictable - and the
Polaris jury is anything but predictable.
Caribou, Swim
From: Dundas, Ont.
Sound: Spooky subterranean disco
Polaris experience: won in 2008 (for Andorra)
Chances of winning: This is a brilliant disc, but it's unlikely that the jury will give Caribou its second Polaris prize in three years.
Karkwa, Les Chemins de Verre
From: Montreal
Sound: Panoramic art-rock
Polaris experience: none
Chances of winning: Good. These Quebeckers brandish the kind of sonic ambition that the Polaris jury loves.
Dan Mangan - Nice, Nice, Very Nice
From: Vancouver
Sound: Well-crafted, highly literate tunes in the singer-songwriter mode
Polaris experience: none
Chances of winning: Slight.
Owen Pallett, Heartland
From: Toronto
Sound: Baroque electro-pop
Polaris experience: won in 2006 (as Final Fantasy, for He Poos Clouds)
Chances of winning: Pallett's sonic innovations are once again on full display, but like Caribou, he is unlikely to get a second Polaris so soon after his first.
Radio Radio, Belmundo Regal
From: Grosse Coque, N.S.; Moncton, N.B.; Pointe-à-l'église, N.S.
Sound: Bombastic hip-hop, en Franglais
Polaris experience: none
Chances of winning: Dubious. These guys are probably too silly to appease too-serious music critics.
The Sadies, Darker Circles
From: Toronto
Sound: Impassioned sturm und twang
Polaris experience: none
Chances of winning: Not bad. These indie-rock warriors have been touring and recording relentlessly for more than a decade. Recognition is overdue.
Shad, TSOL
From: London, Ont.
The sound: Self-deprecating, progressive rap
Polaris experience: nominated in 2008 (for The Old Prince)
Chances of winning: Excellent. Shad is an immense rhyming talent, and, like K'naan, a rapper with a fan base beyond hip-hop.
Tegan and Sara, Sainthood
From: Calgary
The sound: Whip-smart power-pop
Polaris experience: none
Chances of winning: Slight. This is a tremendous record, but it's too conventional for a jury always looking to reward ground-breakers.
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