Crystal Castles, Caribou Make ECHO Songwriting Prize Short List

It may be the time of year when fans of Canadian music turn their attention (and armchair criticism) towards the Polaris Music Prize, but the annual ECHO Songwriting Prize is starting to garner its fair share of attention.

This year, the five songs chosen as finalists are 'Albatross' by the Besnard Lakes, 'Celestica' by Crystal Castles, 'Destroyer' by Young Galaxy, 'Hearts Trompet' by Brasstronaut and 'Odessa' by Caribou. Fans can vote throughout the month of September, and the winner pockets a cool $5,000 for their fine work.

The ECHO prize seems tailor-made for an era where songs are getting more attention than albums among the music-buying public, so expect to hear plenty of amateur and professional critics arguing over the list and the eventual winner in the days and weeks ahead.

The prize was established last year by SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) to reward an individual song thought to be the best-written of the year. Like the Polaris Prize, a jury of music industry insiders -- journalists, authors, DJs, radio hosts and the like -- choose a long list of nominees, which is then whittled down and put to a public vote. Last year, Toronto-based rapper D-Sisive beat out entries from Joel Plaskett, Timber Timbre, Land of Talk and Sebastian Grainger and the Mountains, so when it comes time to name a winner, all bets are off.

Log on to the ECHO Prize website to cast your vote.