Amos the Kid, Mountain View (Winnipeg  MB)
After several iPhone demos sporadically uploaded to his Bandcamp profile and a few live shows, Amos the Kid (Amos Nadlersmith) delivered his first studio release, Mountain View. Okay, it might be an EP and only 16 minutes long, but it still manages to squeak into the five-track minimum required for the Polaris Music Prize! Either way, it needs some recognition. The album's tone effortlessly shifts from effervescent bop to slow ballad then ethereal guitar ambiance while maintaining a unique alternative sound that flows seamlessly through the album. Key tracks like “What Did You Do” and “Jesus Cocaine Ketamine Christ” display Nadlersmith’s ability to construct catchy hooks, while the title track validates him as a strong lyrical composer. Mountain View uses the juxtaposing imagery of the city and nature as a framework to hang the themes of increasing isolation, losing connection with one's hometown, as well as the optimism of a new future filled with love. One of the years best!
Myles Tiessen 


Corridor, Junior (Montreal  QC)
Bewilderingly, the last francophone album to capture the Polaris Music Prize was Karkwa's 2010 effort Les chemins de verre. And while there are many strongly-held opinions as to why we are in the midst of this drought, one thing can be said unequivocally: it's certainly not due a lack of options. If there's any justice, Junior, the latest effort from Montreal's Corridor, will be in the running to break this streak. Combining relentlessly catchy hooks, intelligent post-punk riffs and tastefully-parsed grooves, Junior is about as satisfying a front-to-back listening experience as you'll be able to find from the last year of Canadian music.
Geoff Parent 


Matt Holubowski, Weird Ones (Montreal  QC)
You know how some records are perfect for soundtracking a sunset or music best heard with morning’s break? Matt Holubowski’s Weird Ones is both. It’s temporally fluid. Diaphonous. Holumbowki’s curious compositions flit in and out of focus, flirting with electronics and modern touches while firmly rooted in storytelling songwriting. “Around Here” ranks among the best songs of the year, but there’s more to recommend Weird Ones, like the nuanced turns of “Two Paper Moons” and “Thoroughfare”. Weird Ones is thoroughly engrossing music to be enjoyed at any time of day and an impressive collection of songs in any year.
Jim Di Gioia 


The Jerry Cans, Echoes (Iqaluit  NT)
The Iqaluit quintet released their first record since 2016 amid a world of anxiety and uncertainty. They have long mastered the ability to capture the spirit of the far north, blending a cornucopia of styles that are intrinsic to their ever-evolving sound. On Echoes, The Jerry Cans have managed to reach beyond their comfort zone, puttering in the realms of that aforementioned uncertainty, stride-for-stride in sync with today’s world. Songs like “Atauttikkut” and “Havava” are to-the-point and visceral, striking with each and every measure, ostensibly never letting up. Then there are experimental tracks such as the oh-so-fun-to-pronounce “Kazabazua”, and “SOS”, the latter dabbling in more progressive rock sounds, with a violin climax that is sure to generate goose pimples. It is catchy, yet bold and complicated. The continued bilingual shifts from English to Inuktitut exemplify the diversity that deservedly needs to be heard and propelled to all corners of the country.
Michael Beda 


John, Homonyms (St. John's  NL)
Life in the last few months has been filled with big moments. I for one am tired of being in the midst of history-making moments. I cling to the opportunity to live in small, significant treasures like Homonyms, the jaw-dropping jewel of a record from Newfoundland and Labrador's John. John is singer-songwriter Joanna Barker and her band and Homonyms is the kind of album you apply to your soul like a balm. John slips easily from lo-fi sounding bedroom pop to fleshed out organic folk; from intimacy to immediacy. Homonyms has the potential to make history as the first Newfoundland and Labrador-grown Polaris Music Prize winner, and that’s a history-making moment I’d be happy to be a part of.
Jim Di Gioia 


Men I Trust, Oncle Jazz (Montreal  QC)
Over the past few years, Men I Trust became one of the most popular bands in the country and pretty much nobody in the industry noticed. Their album Oncle Jazz, released during the tail end of 2019 is an 80-minute opus, but not in the way that once meant. It doesn’t really evolve or progress or tell a story so much as it flows endlessly with no real beginning or end, achieving a vibe and revelling in it. People may bemoan it, but it is increasingly becoming fact: pop music, all music, is skewing towards ambience, both because of musical and aesthetic choices by artists and because of listening habits. In the liner notes of Brian Eno’s first album of ambient music, Ambient 1: Music for Airports, Eno laid out his intentions: “Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting.” This is exactly what Men I Trust achieve on Oncle Jazz. If you turn it up these are danceable, watery pop tunes. If you turn it down, it is the perfect hum below a night of good company. You can zone in or out and won’t have missed a thing, which makes each listen unique. On top of arriving at the sound of the near-future earlier than most (the 1975’s brand new album Notes on a Conditional Form might mark the true mainstream arrival of ambient pop music), they did it all completely independently. A short list spot for Oncle Jazz would show music listeners that the jury sees where music is headed and that they are able to celebrate the arrival of a new era of listening and craft rather than ignore or bemoan it.
Mac Cameron 


Noble Son, Life Isn't Fun (Vancouver  BC)
No one says it quite like Adam Kirschner: exactly as it is. The multi-talented writer, actor, and musician of Noble Son doesn’t hide behind poetics but manages to convey the sheer anarchy of human existence colloquially. His second full-length record Life Isn’t Fun quickly made space for itself among essential Canadian albums of 2020; satisfying a growing need for empathy and compassion in an increasingly complicated world. Kirschner’s songwriting is saturated with a hyper-vigilant energy, exposing the psychological impact of outdated social structures. With experimental melodies and relatable one-liners, Kirschner plays with existential loneliness, addressing both basic needs and the desire for something better, or at least something more. Giving voice to insecurity, Noble Son’s Life Isn’t Fun is a welcome addition to the mental-health discussion; countering dangerous notions of “toxic positivity” by presenting vulnerabilities as they are. Both simple and heavily layered, the composition suggests solidarity even in loneliness, featuring Canadian artists like Erik Nielson, Alex Dobson, Andrew Rasmussen, and Chris Gestrin to name a few. Kirschner’s soaring vocals are surrounded by layers of harmonizing voices, crisp keys, and heavy baselines; the parts supporting one another in companionship more than consolidation. Recorded at the legendary Afterlife Studios in Vancouver, this sonically diverse collection is a testament to solidarity; channelling the power of individuals together. The final track ends with the ultimate question: “what’s a lonesome creature expected to do?” In the current climate of isolation, perhaps the best a lonesome creature can do is to listen to Life Isn’t Fun.
Tia Julien 


Pantayo, Pantayo (Toronto  ON)
An elegant blend of disparate genres, supremely catchy, and absolutely laden with grooves, Pantayo’s eponymous debut is a fascinating cross-cultural exercise. With an ensemble of gongs belonging to the kulintang tradition forming the record’s foundation, the Toronto quintet pull in and adapt styles like punk, R&B, and electronic music in order to showcase the emotive power of kulintang and their Filipino heritage in remarkably inventive contexts. In this swirl of creative fusion, all bets are off: beautifully soulful R&B numbers like “Divine” find a home alongside barnburners like “Heto Na”. The latter begins with the simmering sounds of kulintang over a 4/4 kick before breaking into a climax of polyrhythms and vocals that translate to “Ready, set, go strut your stuff. To the left, lock in both your feet. Own up to that funky shit”. Like all of Pantayo, it sounds fresh, confident, and joyous. It’s a record that celebrates the joy of memory and collective wonder of shared discovery. 
Geoff Parent 


Daniel Romano, Content To Point The Way (Welland  ON)
Every year there’s a lot of talk about the underrepresented genres on the Polaris Music Prize Long List and country music is certainly always one of them which is baffling given all of the great country music being made in this country. Daniel Romano can be one of the best, if not the best, country artist in Canada when he wants to be. Content To Point The Way, one of the many releases Romano has put out during these quarantine times, is his first country album since 2015’s If I’ve Only One Time Askin’. He’s been busy making psych and punk music and who can blame him because he’s also good at making those types of records, too. But on Content To Point The Way, Romano, alongside his Outfit band (David Nardi, Roddy Rosetti, Ian Romano, Juliana Riolino and Tony “The Pope” Cicero), puts back on his cowboy hat and crafts a new timeless batch of country songs that make you laugh, cry, and shout yeehaw.
Laura Stanley 


Tomb Mold, Planetary Clairvoyance (Toronto  ON)
Metal has always had a tough time at the Polaris Music Prize. For listeners who aren’t metalheads or even metal-sympathetic, it can be hard to know where to start, know what you’re listening for or how to relate to it. This year, however, there is a record that has the potential to finally make the Short List and it is a death metal album structurally inspired by Blue Nile’s 1989 sophisti-pop classic, Hats. Planetary Clairvoyance by Toronto’s Tomb Mold is death metal, yes, and no, it doesn’t sound like Hats. It is pummeling and a bit disgusting BUT it also washes over you like a wave. There are incredible riffs and god-tier drum parts (Max Klebanoff drums and handles vocals) and there are gorgeous ambient noisescapes and atmospheric clean guitar breaks that give the album a dynamic and pacing not always present on records this heavy. Tomb Mold has found a more sophisticated way to present a type of music often looked at as anything but that. Because of these contradictions, the sheer ambition and cosmic energy they harnessed on Planetary Clairvoyance and being overlooked for their 2018 album Manor of Infinite Forms (which is just as good if not better!!) Tomb Mold has a shot a finally bringing metal to the Short List.
Mac Cameron 
​

---