2014 Polaris Music Prize announces short list

The 10 albums on the 2014 Polaris Music Prize Short List were revealed at The Carlu‘s Round Room in Toronto earlier today.

Montreal actor, producer and writer Jay Baruchel will host the 2014 Polaris Gala being held September 22 at The Carlu in Toronto. Baruchel, who once played the role of obsessed Led Zeppelin fan Vic Munoz in Almost Famous, also helped unveil the 10 albums on the 2014 Short List earlier today in Toronto.

The actor is known for his roles in This Is The End, Goon, as well as the How To Train Your Dragon series, The Trotsky, Knocked Up and Tropic Thunder. His current projects include the FXX comedy series Man Seeking Woman and an adaptation of the book Baseballismo written by Dave Bidini.

Here is the list:

Arcade Fire — Reflektor
Basia Bulat — Tall Tall Shadow
Mac DeMarco — Salad Days
Drake — Nothing Was The Same
Jessy Lanza — Pull My Hair Back
Owen Pallett — In Conflict
Shad — Flying Colours
Tanya Tagaq — Animism
Timber Timbre — Hot Dreams
YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN — UZU

Short List nominees Shad and YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN were in attendance at today’s announcement.

Taken from the 41 album Long List, seven of this year’s nominees have made the Short List in previous years: Arcade Fire, Basia Bulat, Drake, Owen Pallett, Shad, Timber Timbre and YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN. Mac DeMarco, Jessy Lanza and Tanya Tagaq are first time Short Listers.

Also of note, this is the third Short List nomination for three separate artists:

Arcade Fire (2007, 2011, 2014)
Owen Pallett/Final Fantasy (2006, 2010, 2014)
Shad (2008, 2010, 2014)

The only other act to have three Short List nominations is Metric (2006, 2009, 2013).

The 2014 winner will be determined by an 11-member Grand Jury during the Polaris Gala at The Carlu in Toronto on September 22. The Grand Jury will be selected from the larger pool of nearly 190 music journalists, broadcasters and music bloggers from across Canada who make up the Polaris jury.

It was also announced that actor/writer/comedian Jay Baruchel will host the 2014 Polaris Gala. Ticket information for the Polaris Gala will be announced in the coming weeks.

The eligibility period for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize runs from June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014. The Polaris Music Prize awards $30,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year, judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration of genre or record sales. Last year’s winner was Godspeed You! Black Emperor for Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! Past winners include Feist (2012), Arcade Fire (2011), Karkwa (2010), Fucked Up (2009), Caribou (2008), Patrick Watson (2007) and Final Fantasy (2006).