Last night in Vancouver, B.C., the FIFA World Cup was presented to U.S. women’s team after they crushed Japan 5-2. What does this have to do with Canadian music? Well nothing, really. But we are having our own World Cup tournament over here at Mixtape. Instead of countries, we’re putting the 40 Polaris Music Prize long listed albums head-to-head against each other.
Like in the World Cup, we’ve separated the albums into groups. We’ll have a preliminary round where albums will square off against other albums in their own group. The top two albums from each group will then form a round of 16. From there it’ll will follow a normal sports tournament format, going from 16 to eight to four to two until finally we crown a winner. On July 16 we will announce the final 16.
We have a different Mixtape editor or contributor judging each group, but nobody other than editor-in-chief Jonathan Briggins knows who is judging what. If you want to go full-FIFA on us and offer bribes, we’re sorry. Also if you would like to be the official mascot for the Mixtape Polaris World Cup, go right ahead.
The real Polaris Music Prize is selected by a jury with the winner taking home a cool $50,000.
Group A
Caribou – Our Love
Absolutely Free – Absolutely Free.
BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah – Sour Soul
Steph Cameron – Sad-Eyed Lonesome Lady
Jean Leloup – À Paradis City
Group B
Braids – Deep in the Iris
Arkells – High Noon
The Barr Brothers – Sleeping Operator
Tre Mission – Stigmata
Pierre Kwenders – Le dernier empereur Bantou
Group C
METZ – II
Tobias Jesso Jr. – Goon
Viet Cong – Viet Cong
Jennifer Castle – Pink City
Lydia Ainsworth – Right From Real
Group D
Joel Plaskett – The Park Avenue Sobriety Test
The New Pornographers – Brill Bruisers
The Weather Station – Loyalty
Jazz Cartier – Marauding in Paradise
Young Guv – Ripe 4 Luv
Group E
Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld – Never Were the Way She Was
Cold Specks – Neuroplasticity
White Lung – Deep Fantasy
Various Artists – Native North America (Vol. 1): Aboriginal Folk, Rock and Country, 1966-1985
Siskiyou – Nervous
Group F
Patrick Watson – Love Songs for Robots
Death From Above 1979 – The Physical World
B.A. Johnston – Shit Sucks
Louis-Jean Cormier – Les grandes artères
Lee Harvey Osmond – Beautiful Scars
Group G
Whitehorse – Leave No Bridge Unburned
Alvvays – Alvvays
Rich Aucoin – Ephemeral
Buffy Sainte-Marie – Power in the Blood
Elizabeth Shepherd – The Signal
Group H
Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
Bahamas – Bahamas Is Afie
The Acorn – Vieux Loup
Milk & Bone – Little Mourning
Frazey Ford – Indian Ocean