Here is the Long List for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize

After nearly of year of nominating, lobbying, and listening, the jury for the Polaris Music Prize (200+ people of which I am one) voted on the 204 submissions, winnowing things down to the Long List for this year’s award. Here are the 40 albums in alphabetical order.

Art Bergmann – Late Stage Empire Dementia
Bernice – Eau De Bonjourno
The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are The Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson – Theory of Ice
BIG|BRAVE – Vital
Cadence Weapon – Parallel World
Charlotte Cardin – Phoenix
CFCF – memoryland
Clairmont The Second – IT’S NOT HOW IT SOUNDS
Helena Deland – Someone New
DijahSB – Head Above The Waters
Kathleen Edwards – Total Freedom
Dominique Fils-Aimé – Three Little Words
Fiver with the Atlantic School of Spontaneous Composition – Fiver with the Atlantic School of Spontaneous Composition
Thanya Iyer – KIND
Yves Jarvis – Sundry Rock Song Stock
Rochelle Jordan – Play With the Changes
LAL – Meteors Could Come Down
Daniel Lanois – Heavy Sun
Thierry Larose – Cantalou
Russell Louder – Humor
Elliot Maginot – Easy Morning
Mustafa – When Smoke Rises
Laura Niquay – Waska Matisiwin
Nyssa – Girls Like Me
The OBGMs – The Ends
Dorothea Paas – Anything Can’t Happen
Klô Pelgag – Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs
Savannah Ré – Opia
Allison Russell – Outside Child
Julien Sagot – Sagot
Sargeant X Comrade – Magic Radio
Shabason, Krgovich & Harris – Philadelphia
Yu Su – Yellow River Blue
Julian Taylor – The Ridge
TEKE::TEKE – Shirushi
TOBi – ELEMENTS Vol.1
Vagina Witchcraft – Vagina Witchcraft
The Weather Station – Ignorance
Zoon – Bleached Wavves

There are some excellent albums here. Cutting things down to a mere 10 for the Short List is going to be touch. Until then, though, that will mean more jury discussions and arguing before another vote is taken. Look for the Short List to appear July 15. The grand prize will be awarded in September with the winner getting $50,000 and each of the nine finalists $3,000.

Want to listen for yourself? Go here.