Now in its fourth year, the Polaris Music Prize short list has been announced. Among the albums that made the cut are some amazing bands and some ones that we found a bit questionable. For those of you that don’t know what we are talking about, the Polaris Music Prize is awarded each year to ONE band that demonstrates the best full-length Canadian album of that year. What makes this prize so great (and not just the $20,000 cash prize for the winner) is that it is based solely on artistic merit irrespective of genre and album sales. The winner will be announced during an awards ceremony on September 21st at the Concert Hall in the Masonic Temple.

Here is the short list for this year’s prize:

Elliot Brood “Mountain Meadows”

Fucked Up “The Chemistry of Common Life”

Great Lake Swimmers “Lost Channels”

Hey Rosetta! “Into Your Lungs”

K’Naan “Troubadour”

Malajube “Labyrinthes”

Metric “Fantasies”

Joel Plaskett “Three”

Chad VanGaalen “Soft Airplane”

Patrick Watson “Wooden Arms”

Be sure to check back for our coverage of this amazing prize and all the awesome bands chosen as the best Canadian album this year!