Everything is.....

Hello. The Polaris Music Prize is the highly anticipated follow up to Britain's Mercury Prize, think of it as Canada's Version of the Prize. There is certainly a great short list of nominees this year, I have heard almost all the albums and they do deserve to be there. I have a fair amount to update you all on as it has been very busy lately I have fallen behind in my musical research. So This week I will give a review of The Streets newest album, and give you a run down on what to expect from the Polaris Gala taking place on Sept 29th.

First, let's take you to The Streets. Their latest is called Everything is Borrowed and after a slightly disappointing follow up to their first breakthrough album A Grand Don't Come for Free they seemed back on track based on the initial two single releases from this album. Opening with "Everything is Borrowed" a not so newly insightful look at life and how to appreciate it. Ending with "The Escapist" a song on which Mike Skinner filmed a video of him walking from London to France...obviously he didn't do it, because he didn't even complete the New York Marathon when he said he was going to. Everything else in between is mediocre and rehashed from their last album The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living. Such not so good gems like "The Way of the Dodo" make this album a little harder to listen to then they already are to begin with. The Streets are great storytellers and that is what makes them charming and fun to listen to. When they just try and make social points and lose that storytelling view it tends to fall through.

Now, onto the Polaris Music Prize. There are certainly some great nominees, but first lets catch you up with who has won this award in the past. This past year in 2007, Patrick Watson's album Close to Paradise and of course the year before was a shocking winner Final Fantasy's odd album He Poos Clouds. This year there is a whole lotta good tunes to listen to, try checking them out if you haven't already. Here are the nominees.

Black Mountain - In the Future
Basia Bulat - Oh, My Darling
Caribou - Andorra
Shad - The Old Prince
Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War
Holy F***k - LP
Kathleen Edwards - Asking for Flowers
Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue
Two Hours Traffic - Little Jabs
The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour

It is very hard to pick a clear winner, but some certain front runners will be Plants and Animals and Shad. All the other albums will certainly give these a run for their money ($20,000 to be exact), but these two artists have received a lot of press for their albums and almost all of it very positive. As the bulk of the judging panel have spoken very highly of these two albums it is a very good chance that it will come down to these two.

Next week is a very exciting week with two of my current favorite artists releasing new albums. So, if you know who they are take a guess, and if you have predictions about who will win the Polaris Prize let me know.

-Dave