It's that time of the year again. The first ballot for the Polaris Prize is due tomorrow and from the initial 5 selections submitted by each juror, we'll get the 40 entry Longlist (which will be announced June 13th in Ottawa).
From hundreds of possibilities that were released during the eligibility period (including stuff that crossed my plate at UMFM, as well as all the suggestions made by my fellow jurors), I whittled things down to a personal longlist of 25 entries.
They are (alphabetically):
A Tribe Called Red - We Are The Halluci Nation [Radicalized Records]
Austra - Future Politics [Domino]
BADBADNOTGOOD - IV [Arts & Crafts]
BEYRIES - Landing [Bonsound]
Black Atlass - Haunted Paradise [Fool's Gold]
Louise Burns - Young Mopes [Light Organ Records]
Castle If - Plant Material [Independent]
Chocolat - Recontrer Looloo [Dare To Care Records]
The Cosmic Range - New Latitudes [Idee Fixe]
The Courtneys - II [Flying Nun]
Mac DeMarco - This Old Dog [Captured Tracks/Royal Mountain Records]
DJ Shub - Pow Wow Step [Independent]
Duotang - New Occupation [Stomp]
Figure Walking - The Big Other [Disintegration Records]
Fleece - Voyager [Independent]
Homeshake - Fresh Air [Royal Mountain Records]
Japandroids - Near To The Wild Heart Of Life [Arts & Crafts]
Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion: Side B [Interscope]
Aleem Khan - Urbana Champagne [Independent]
Klo Pelgag - L'Etoile Thoracique [Coyote Records]
Northern Cree - It's A Cree Thing [Canyon Records]
Lou Phelps - 001: Experiments [Independent]
Alejandra Ribera - This Island [Pheromone]
The Shiverettes - Dead Men Can't Cat Call [Transistor 66]
Tasha The Amazon - Die Every Day [The Truth Music Group]
One thing I strive for in coming up with my Polaris ballot is consistency with my Year-End lists so it shouldn't be surprising to reveal that not only was We Are The Halluci Nation my #1 album of 2016, it's also the top spot on my Polaris 2017 ballot.
Here's my 5 in order:
01 A Tribe Called Red - We Are The Halluci Nation [Radicalized Records]
02 BADBADNOTGOOD - IV [Arts & Crafts]
03 Klo Pelgag - L'Etoile Thoracique [Coyote Records]
04 BEYRIES - Landing [Bonsound]
05 Alejandra Ribera - This Island [Pheromone]
P.S. I want to give a special shout out to some albums I quite enjoyed that the jury brought to my attention:
Alain Lefevre - Sas Agapo
Booji Boys - Booji Boys
Le Couleur - P.O.P.
Leanne Simpson - f(l)ight
Hooded Fang - Dynasty House
Sarah Davach- All My Circles Run
and finally, the self-titled record from She-Devils that came my way mid-May and I really didn't get enough time with to make the cut.
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