Everyone hates people who are pretentious about music. They go on about the ‘inherent darkness’ and the ‘layers of haze and humidity’, and you just want music to play in the background while you study. But occasionally, it’s nice to actually get into the music, and truly listen to whatever you’re tapping your pencil to. To be reminded that there are people out there making that music; putting their heart and thought into every beat and note. For me, its events like the Polaris Music Prize that act as those reminders. It’s an evening watching musicians talking about their work, and witnessing how much energy it takes to play a three minute song. The nominees and winners are chosen by a panel of Canadian music journalists and bloggers, which has made Polaris notorious for having completely unexpected nominations. This year, the short list has music heavyweights like Ron Sexsmith and Arcade Fire (who won the prize) rubbing shoulders with the lesser known The Weeknd and Braids. If made into a completely overused analogy, that’s like having the football players sitting next to the geeks in a ‘High School Musical’ cafeteria. But let’s not ignore the other artists on the Polaris shortlist; there’s plenty more people in that cafeteria.
Artist: Arcade Fire
Album: The Suburbs
What They Sound Like: Arcade Fire didn’t just win because their music is beautifully subtle, almost church-like, but also because it is as grounded in emotion as it is celestial. The album captures all those moments of isolation and alienation felt by those growing up in suburbia, and translates them into stuff you want to tap your foot to.
Check Out: ‘City With No Children’
Artist: Austra
Album: Feel It Break
What They Sound Like: What should play at Halloween themed raves. Ambient, hazy and dark, Katie Stelmanis’ classically trained voice makes Austra’s electro-pop atmospheric.
Check Out: ‘Lose It’
Artist: Braids
Album: Native Speaker
What They Sound Like: Like the Wack-a-Mole game at an arcade, the sounds in ‘Native Speaker’ pop out at the listener in a seemingly random order. It doesn’t take long to realise though, that each note serves a purpose, alternatingly building up tension then releasing it (just like hitting moles). It’s this ordered randomness that makes the album into a beautifully cohesive debut.
Check Out: ‘Same Mum’
Artist: Destroyer
Album: Kaputt
What They Sound Like: Destroyer is one of those artists that you’re not sure of you like or not, but you want everyone to listen to anyway. With a cheesy 70’s sound (that you secretly adore), Dan Bejar’s lyrics flourish, each song becomes an epic saga.
Check Out: ‘Poor in Love’
Artist: Galaxie
Album: Tigre et diesel
What They Sound Like: This album is in French. Full disclosure. This doesn’t stop Anglophones from pretending to sing along to these guys though. They’re full of grit, awesome guitar riffs, with just a hint of pop.
Check Out: ‘Piste 1’
Artist: Hey Rosetta!
Album: Seeds
What They Sound Like: The perfect driving music; picture you in a convertible with the sun shining down, driving along the ocean. Lead singer Tim Baker’s lyrics are reason enough to listen, but the gorgeously layered music doesn’t hurt. I can never decide whether to grin or cry when listening to these guys.
Check Out: ‘Yer Spring’
Artist: Ron Sexsmith
Album: Long Player Late Bloomer
What They Sound Like: I think I had ‘Believe It When I See It’ on repeat for a week. It’s the kind of song you want to belt out at karaoke night; great pop sound, and even better chorus. The rest of the album doesn’t disappoint either. Despite the fact that Sexsmith sings about the usual: love, life and the pursuit of happiness, he makes it sincere.
Check Out: ‘Believe It When I See It’
Artist: Colin Stetson
Album: New History Warfare Vol 2. Judges
What They Sound Like: ‘Experimental jazz’ is the understatement of the year when it comes to Colin Stetson’s music. What he makes is pure noise: unadulterated, organic, brassy. Some tracks embrace a lack of vocals, focusing instead on transcribing emotion into sound, while others introduce a voice to showcase the contrast between instrument and human. A necessary listen.
Check Out: ‘A Dream of Water’
Artist: Timber Timbre
Album: Creep On Creepin’ On
What They Sound Like: The kind of music you do not want to hear while walking alone through the woods. Slow but quick, Taylor Kirk’s sluggish vocals make you want to sway and lose yourself, while creating the feeling that someone is watching you.
Check Out: ‘Black Water’
Artist: The Weeknd
Album: House of Balloons
What They Sound Like: An album of theme songs for astronauts. The recently unknown The Weeknd creates a sound that’s dark, spacey and familiar. Much like his co-signer, Drake, there’s plenty of synth and long, drawn out vocals. His drug fuelled night-time imagery is perfectly carried by falsetto, guarantying to get stuck in your head.
Check Out: ‘Wicked Games’
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