TORONTO - The Polaris Music Prize has released its long list of 40 contenders.
The honour is handed out to an artist or band for releasing the best Canadian album of the year and includes a $20,000 prize.
The long list includes well-known rock bands like Blue Rodeo, Broken Social Scene and Tegan and Sara, as well as some more underground indie acts such as Ghostkeeper, Karkwa and South Rakkas Crew.
The short list of 10 albums will be revealed on July 6.
The winner will be debated by a jury and announced on Sept. 20.
The full long list:
Apollo Ghosts - Mount Benson (Vancouver)
Bahamas - Pink Strat (Toronto)
The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night (Montreal)
Blue Rodeo - The Things We Left Behind (Toronto)
Brasstronaut - Mt. Chimaera (Vancouver)
Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record (Toronto)
Basia Bulat - Heart Of My Own (London)
By Divine Right - Mutant Message (Toronto)
Caribou -- Swim (Dundas)
Jason Collett - Rat A Tat Tat (Toronto)
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (II) (Toronto)
Amelia Curran - Hunter Hunter (Halifax)
Fred Fortin - Plastrer La Lune (Montreal)
Frog Eyes - Paul's Tomb: A Triumph (Victoria)
Hannah Georgas - This Is Good (Vancouver)
Ghostkeeper - Ghostkeeper (Calgary)
Holy Fuck - Latin (Toronto)
Karkwa - Les Chemins De Verre (Montreal)
LeE HARVeY OsMOND - A Quiet Evil (Hamilton)
Greg MacPherson - Mr. Invitation (Winnipeg)
Dan Mangan - Nice, Nice, Very Nice (Vancouver)
Misteur Valaire - Golden Bombay (Montreal)
The New Pornographers - Together (Vancouver)
Owen Pallett - Heartland (Toronto)
Plants And Animals - La La Land (Montreal)
Radio Radio - Belmundo Regal (Montreal)
Justin Rutledge - The Early Widows (Toronto)
The Sadies - Darker Circles (Toronto)
Shad - TSOL (London)
Elizabeth Shepherd - Heavy Falls The Night (Toronto)
The Slew - 100% (Montreal)
Meaghan Smith - The Cricket's Orchestra (London)
South Rakkas Crew - The Stimulus Package (Toronto)
Tegan And Sara - Sainthood (Vancouver)
The Wooden Sky - If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone (Toronto)
Hawksley Workman - Meat (Huntsville)
You Say Party! We Say Die! - XXXX (Vancouver)
Young Galaxy - Invisible Republic (Montreal)
Yukon Blonde - Yukon Blonde (Vancouver)
Zeus - Say Us (Toronto)
