The Weakerthans, Black Mountain, Stars on Polaris short list

The short list for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize has been announced. CBC Radio 3's Grant Lawrence (we affectionately remember him as a Smuggler) made the announcement in Toronto this morning with last year's winner Patrick Watson. The short list of bands vying for the $20,000 prize includes the Weakerthans, Black Mountain, Plants and Animals, Basia Bulat, Stars, Caribou, Shad, Kathleen Edwards, Two Hours Traffic and Holy Fuck. An 178 member jury, which included Punknews' own Ben Conoley, pared down the initial list of 40 nominated albums. An 11 member grand jury will decide the winner at an awards ceremony in Toronto on Sept 29.

The Polaris prize, inspired by Britian's Mercury Prize, was founded by Steve Jordan and sets out to recognize the best full-length Canadian album of the past year. The albums are judged on artistic merit and without regard to genre or sales figures.

• Black Mountain - In The Future (Vancouver, BC)
• Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue (Montréal, QC)
• Basia Bulat - Oh, My Darling (London, ON)
• Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War (Montréal, QC)
• Caribou - Andorra (Dundas, ON)
• Shad - The Old Prince (London, ON)
• Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers (Ottawa, ON)
• Two Hours Traffic - Little Jabs (Charlottetown, PE)
• Holy Fuck - LP (Toronto, ON)
• The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour (Winnipeg, MB)