2013 Polaris Music Prize long list announced

Each year the Polaris Music Prize honours the best and brightest of Canada’s musicians. The 2013 long list includes 40 albums from a wide range of genres released between June 1, 2012 and May 31, 2013.

“This year’s Long List is all over the map, but in the best possible way,” said Steve Jordan, Founder and Executive Director. “A lot of our jury expressed that this was the most difficult Polaris ballot they’ve ever submitted. The results of this careful and passionate deliberation will make for some truly engaging listening for music lovers.”

Albums included in the short list will be announced on July 16, 2013. An independent jury composed of over 200 music journalists, bloggers and experts from across Canada determines the long and short lists. Eleven of these experts are selected to serve on the grand jury. Alongside being named Canadian Album of the Year, the winning act will receive $30,000.

The full list is:

• A Tribe Called Red – Nation II Nation
• Alaclair Ensemble – Les maigres blancs d’Amérique du Noir
• ANCIIENTS – Heart of Oak
• The Besnard Lakes – Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO
• Louis-Jean Cormier – Le Treizième Étage
• Daphni – JIAOLONG
• Mac DeMarco – 2
• Evening Hymns – Spectral Dusk
• Hannah Georgas – Hannah Georgas
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor – ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
• Chilly Gonzales – Solo Piano II
• Jim Guthrie – Takes Time
• Hayden – Us Alone
• Zaki Ibrahim – Every Opposite
• KEN mode – Entrench
• Kid Koala – 12 bit Blues
• Kobo Town – Jumbie in the Jukebox
• Pierre Lapointe – Punkt
• Lee Harvey Osmond – The Folk Sinner
• Les soeurs Boulay – Le poids des confettis
• Corb Lund – Cabin Fever
• The Luyas – Animator
• Majical Cloudz – Impersonator
• Metric – Synthetica
• METZ – METZ
• Danny Michel with the Garifuna Collective – Black Birds Are Dancing Over Me
• AC Newman – Shut Down The Streets
• Old Man Luedecke – Tender is The Night
• Lindi Ortega – Cigarettes & Truckstops
• Peter Peter – Une version améliorée de la tristesse
• Purity Ring – Shrines
• Rah Rah – The Poet’s Dead
• Rhye – Woman
• Daniel Romano – Come Cry With Me
• Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light
• Suuns – Images du futur
• Tegan and Sara – Heartthrob
• Al Tuck – Stranger at the Wake
• Whitehorse – The Fate of the World Depends On This Kiss

Past winners have included Feist (2012), Arcade Fire (2011), Karkwa (2010), Fucked Up (2009), Caribou (2008), Patrick Watson (2007), and Final Fantasy (2006).