Yesterday, the 40 albums nominated for the Polaris Music Prize were announced. The award is given out to the best Canadian album as determined by a group of judges. The list of 40 will be narrowed down to a short list on July 15. The winner will take home the prize along with $30,000. The nine others that don’t win will receive $2,000. Last year Godspeed You! Black Emperor won the prize. Before that, Feist, Arcade Fire, Karkwa, Fucked Up, Caribou, Patrick Watson and Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) won.
To give you a little sample of all the long listed artists, we’ve thrown together this playlist. It’s in alphabetical order and includes one track from each artist (with the exception of Jimmy Hunt who did not have any tracks from his most recent album on Soundcloud). If you hear something you like, check out the rest of the album.
Photo of Odonis Odonis: Supplied