Sometimes, it’s hard to agree with award shows or national prizes. The selections often seem arbitrary or based off of political implications more than the quality of the music itself. However, one prize that does seem to routinely get it right is Canada’s Polaris Music Prize. Instead of having a whole award show set up like the Grammys, Canada keeps things simple. They narrow down from a long list of nominees for the prize, to a shorter list, and finally select one artist from the year to honor.
Today, they’ve released the short list version of that process, and it is jam-packed with names you probably know a couple you might not. One thing is for sure, as long as Feist’s Pleasure is on there, the list can’t be too far off the mark. It also includes Leonard Cohen’s final album, You Want It Darker, which will surely be a strong contender given his death last year, and BADBADNOTGOOD’s latest jazz-fusion opus, IV.
Check out the full list below.
A Tribe Called Red, We Are The Halluci Nation
BADBADNOTGOOD, IV
Leonard Cohen, You Want It Darker
Gord Downie, Secret Path
Feist, Pleasure
Lisa LeBlanc, Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen?
Lido Pimienta, La Papessa
Tanya Tagaq, Retribution
Leif Vollebekk, Twin Solitude
Weaves, Weaves
