Metric, Great Lake Swimmers and K'naan Make Polaris Prize Short List

Posted on Jul 7th 2009 5:00PM by Joshua Ostroff
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The Polaris Music Prize, Canada's annual $20,000 award for best album, announced its top ten finalists on July 7, on a list that contains six repeat nominees, including indie-pop stars Metric and Somali-Canadian rapper K'naan.

Rounding out the short list is F---ed Up, Elliott BROOD, Great Lake Swimmers, Hey Rosetta!, Malajube (2006), Joel Plaskett (2007), Chad VanGaalen (2007) and 2007 Polaris prizewinner Patrick Watson.

"I think the music stands alone and speaks for itself, regardless of how many times someone is nominated," said Great Lake Swimmer's Tony Dekker, a first-time nominee for his band's widely acclaimed new album 'Lost Channels.'

"This prize is interesting because it's not about record sales or anything like that. It's special to be nominated because in the end it's about the songs, it's about the craft and it's about your music touching people. That's what sets this apart and why it's such a great honour and thrill to be part of it."

Established in 2006 and inspired by Britain's like-minded Mercury Music Prize, the Polaris Prize is based exclusively on artistic merit. With votes from more than 180 music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers determining the short list -- a grand jury of 11 will hash out the winner during the Polaris Gala on Sept. 21 -- the goal is to shine a (northern) light on the country's best records, many of which get overlooked by the Junos, an industry awards with sales quotas on its top categories.

"It's a very Canadian thing, and a very beautifully Canadian thing, to recognize people who are doing things without a lot of recognition," said Metric's James Shaw, who was surprised to discover his band had earned a second slot, after 2006's 'Live It Out.' "So if Polaris wants to historically be that thing, then that's cool. For us, it's nice to be in the category. I personally don't feel like what we're doing is solely commercial -- and not to say that what [2007 nominee] Feist is doing is, but it's nice to see that Nickelback is not on there."

"As far as it being surprising," piped in Metric singer Emily Haines, "I feel that there's nothing conventional about Metric and the way things have gone in our lives. From a certain perspective, I feel we are an overlooked band in so many ways, so I don't feel like, 'Oh we're such superstars that we don't need the Polaris Prize.' We've been an underground band for a long time so it makes sense for what Polaris wants to be, that we would be on their list."

That said, a Polaris short list nomination -- and, of course, a win -- can be a particularly monumental event for a band less well-known than Metric. Elliott BROOD, for instance, has long been heralded by the Toronto music scene for their "death country" sound (essentially heavy rock music played with country instruments), but they've been paying their dues on the road, and this nod for their 2008 album 'Mountain Meadows' should help boost their national and international profile.

"The recognition we're going to get just from this alone is going to be huge for the band in general," said guitarist Casey Laforet. "It'll get new people to hear us and we're a touring band, so hopefully it will get people out to shows."

Singer Mark Sasso was a little more succinct about what he hoped they might get out of the band's Polaris nomination.

"Twenty thousand dollars."

The 2009 Polaris Music Prize nominees (in alphabetical order):

	Elliott BROOD 'Mountain Meadows' (Toronto, ON)
	F---ed Up 'The Chemistry Of Common Life' (Toronto, ON)
	Great Lake Swimmers 'Lost Channels' (Toronto, ON)
	Hey Rosetta! 'Into Your Lungs (and around in your heart and on through your blood)' (St. John's, NF)
	K'NAAN 'Troubadour' (Toronto, ON)
	Malajube 'Labyrinthes' (Montréal, QC)
	Metric 'Fantasies' (Toronto, ON)
	Joel Plaskett 'Three' (Halifax, NS)
	Chad VanGaalen 'Soft Airplane' (Calgary, AB)
	Patrick Watson 'Wooden Arms' (Montréal, QC)