Polaris Short List Too Short for Some

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Reaction to the release of the Polaris Prize short list is slowly appearing on music blogs and news sites. So far, the list doesn't seem to be polarizing opinion, although there are some consistent laments for artists who didn't make the cut.

The list was released yesterday morning. Winnipeg's The Weakerthans (Reunion Tour) join other indie rockers Plants and Animals (Parc Avenue) and Stars (In Our Bedroom After the War), Vancouver’s Black Mountain (In the Future) and Charlottetown’s Two Hours Traffic (Little Jabs).

Contributing the diversity of sounds on the list are the somewhat more experimental Holy F*ck (LP), and Caribou (Andorra), hip-hop artist Shad (The Old Prince), and singer-songwriters Kathleen Edwards (Asking for Flowers) and Basia Bulat (Oh, My Darling) round it out.

Bumpershine released their own anticipatory short list last week that was 50% accurate but also included a couple of records that I've spent a lot of time listening to: The Acorn (Glory Hope Mountain) and The New Pornographers (Challengers). Also oft-missed are Sunset Rubdown (Random Spirit Lover), Wintersleep (Welcome to the Night Sky) and The Constantines (Shine A Light).

And of course, we were sad that fellow Manitoban Christine Fellows didn't make the list. But let us know, who are you rooting for? Who are you missing?

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