It’s Polaris Music Prize time again. I will be bringing it up for the next few months so get used to it. The Polaris Music Prize is a not-for-profit organization that annually honours and rewards artists who produce Canadian music albums of distinction. A select panel of music critics judge and award the Prize without regard to musical genre or commercial popularity.

Polaris Music Prize accepted me as juror last year and I was very surprised but honoured to be a part of it. They didn’t kick me out, so I still get to vote this year. But what albums should I vote for?! There have been hundreds of albums released in the eligible time period of June 1, 2017 to May 31, 2018. It will be very difficult for the jury to narrow it down to 40 for the long list. The way we get that long list is the jurors recommend albums and then we will each vote for 5 albums from those recommendations. Those votes will make up the long list that comes out June 14. We will again give our 5 votes from that list to make up the short list that comes out on July 17. A Grand Jury of 11 members will be selected and they will decide on the winner while at the gala on Sept 17.

Deciding on which 5 albums I will vote for is a bit of a daunting task. The playlist this week is my long list of albums that may make it on my ballot and I hope make it to the official long list. There are 40 songs, in no particular order,representing an artist and their album and I need to find 5 to vote for. There are some artists that will probably be on the official long list but aren’t on mine and vice versa. I sure hope The Barr Brothers are on both lists though. There have been albums released this year that I do enjoy but I just don’t think they belong on my ballot for Polaris Music Prize.

What 5 albums would you vote for and why? Who did I miss that you think should be on there? Tell me why you think an album should be on the list and I just may consider it. I only have a few days left to get my vote in though so act fast! Fill out my survey and let me know.

 

DarBar’s Polaris Long List (in no particular order)

The Barr Brothers – Queens of the Breakers
Esmerine – Mechanics of Dominion
Jean-Michel Blais – Dans ma main
Jeremy Dutcher – Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa
Suuns – Felt
Preoccupations – New Material
Odonis Odonis – No Pop
Big Brave –  Ardor
Yamantaka//Sonic Titan – Dirt
U.S. Girls – In A Poem Unlimited
Weaves – Wide Open
For Esme – Righteous Woman
Faith Healer – Try 😉
Bonjay – Lush Life
Lowell – Lone Wolf

Essaie Pas – New Path
Young Galaxy – Down Time
Charlotte Day – Stone Woman
The Weather Station – The Weather Station
Kacy & Clayton – The Siren’s Song
Melissa Laveaux – Radyo Siwel
Hubert Lenoir – Darlene
Bahamas – Earthtones
Michael Rault – It’s A New Day
Donovan Woods – Both Ways
Heavy Bell – By Grand Central Station
Destroyer – Ken

Wolf Parade – Cry Cry Cry
Walrus – Family Hangover
Propagandhi – Victory Lap
Galaxie – Super Lynx Deluxe
Broken Social Scene – Hug of Thunder
shy kids – In a State
Pierre Kwenders – MAKANDA at the End of Space the Beginning of Time

Zaki Ibrahim – The Secret Life of Planets
Afrotronix – NomadiX
The Souljazz Orchestra – Under Burning Skies
Loud – Une année record
Cadence Weapon – Cadence Weapon
Snotty Nose Rez Kids – The Average Savage

 

 

For more information about Polaris Music Prize go to their website.