Polaris Music Prize Announces Short List

While there are definitely a few surprises on the list, I don’t think anyone is surprised to see Arcade Fire, who receive their second nomination, having been nominated in 2007 for Neon Bible. Hey Rosetta! is the only other nominee to have received a nomination in the past. Karkwa was the surprise winner last year. Will their franco compatriots Galaxie bring the prize home to Montreal for a second straight year? Or will it go to veteran Ron Sexsmith, with his 12 full length albums under his belt. Perhaps the prize will go to Destroyer, Braids or Timber Timbre, who were definitely the buzziest bands on the list. In any event, here’s the full list of finalists for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize:

Arcade Fire  – The Suburbs

Austra – Feel It Break

Braids – Native Speaker

Destroyer – Kaputt

Galaxie – Tigre et Diesel

Hey Rosetta! – Seeds

Ron Sexsmith – Long Player Late Bloomer

Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges

Timber Timbre – Creep On Creepin’ On

The Weeknd – House Of Balloons

Who do you think will take home this year’s prize?

Tags: 2011, Album, Arcade Fire, Austra, Braids, Canada, Colin Stetson, Creep On Creepin' On, Destroyer, Feel It Break, Galaxie, Hey Rosetta!, House of Balloons, Kaputt, Karkwa, Long Player Late Bloomer, Meet You At The Show, MYATS, Native Speaker, Neon Bible, New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges, Polaris, Polaris Music Prize, Ron Sexsmith, Seeds, Slaight Music, The Suburbs, The Weeknd, Tigre et Diesel, Timber Timbre