My personal Polaris 2020 long list part 4

Day four!

Recap: I cast my ballot for the Polaris Prize this week. Jurors only get five slots. Almost 200 albums were suggested by fellow jury members. A long list of 40 will be published next week. As always, there’s no shortage of excellent Canadian music. But this year there’s no one album—or even three—that I feel so obviously tower above the rest. Which makes the winnowing even more difficult.

I’m not going to tell you what’s on my ballot, but these are the 40 records I considered (10 in each post). Most of these have been discussed by the Polaris jury at some point, but this is a very personal list that no one should read into deeply. Many of these will likely not make the long list, and many not mentioned here most definitely will.

Final caveat: I’m a 48yo anglo white dad who lives in Toronto with all the obvious blind spots that entails, so prepare yourself with as many grains of salt you feel are required.

Part 4/4: 

Owen Pallett – Island: This long-delayed album came out two weeks before the Polaris deadline, and yet I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see it become one of the most-discussed albums this year. And not just because the first single (with its excellent accompanying video) contains this lyric: "Do not be scared / Surely some disaster will descend and equalize us / a crisis / Will unify the godless and the fearless and the righteous.” Though as lushly orchestrated as much of his work, these songs are centred around acoustic guitar, marking a new(ish) direction for Pallett: very little evidence of his violin-virtuoso past, few of the electronics that shaped 2014’s In Conflict, the orchestration never draws attention to itself, the music rich with subtleties and no concessions at all to pop audiences (usually Pallett would throw a bone or two). This sounds like Pallett’s most musically personal album; it also features the loveliest vocals he’s ever put to tape. For day-one fans, it’s as much a mature, one-man version of Les Mouches as it is a Final Fantasy record. Bandcamp link here.

Pantayo – s/t: Now here’s something you haven’t heard before: a group of Filipinas integrating traditional percussion (kulintang) with R&B and pop that lies somewhere between ESG, Massive Attack and Solange. Yes, the novelty is part of the appeal, and that will help this land on the long list and go possibly much further this Polaris season. But, like Tagaq or Jeremy Dutcher’s work, this is far from mere novelty: it’s an incredibly strong record: the grooves, the vocals, the songs, the sonic textures, the production by Alaska B (Yamantaka // Sonic Titan). Pantayo didn’t start out like this; when I saw them perform at a Long Winter event several years ago, it was definitely more on the traditional side. Now, “V V V (They Lie)” and “Desire” are total radio summer jams, uptempo and down, respectively. There’s even, it seems, some ’80s new wave in the mix here, but that could just the Scarborough boy in me being brought back to a time when I would have first heard traditional Filipino music at high school talent shows 30 years ago and now I’m weirdly conflating a bunch of my own memories in what is apparently a record review. Anyway, this is going to be the record that will make the list and have industry veterans wondering, “Where the hell did this come from?” Bandcamp link here.

Lido Pimienta – Miss Colombia: Is it okay to say now that I didn’t like Pimienta’s 2017 Polaris winner La Papessa? That was a milestone win for many reasons (first allophone winner, entirely indie release), but I still heard a nascent artist who had yet to fully bloom. The conversation around the win—and the way Pimienta dealt with an onslaught of hateful criticism—was more worthy than the album itself, in this random white guy’s opinion, FWIW (not much). The Toronto artist took a lot of time and care following it up, and now we can talk about the music again. Everything has stepped up, starting with Pimienta’s own vocals: they’re stronger, express more dynamics and inflection, and generally more emotionally resonant. That’s true of the electronics as well; she’s said part of her challenge here was to make the technology sound beautiful, and she succeeded. The brass arrangements throughout are also a nice touch. Prince Nifty, a.k.a. Owen Pallett collaborator Matt Smith, co-produces here (check out his lovely new solo release), and guests include Colombian palenque group Sexteto Tabala (the collab here will sound familiar to any fans of Caribbean-Colombian legend Toto La Momposina) and South American superstar Li Saumet of electro-cumbia-pop band Bomba Estereo. One could argue that Pimienta won the Polaris prematurely, but if she hadn’t, then this superior record would likely not be getting an international release; its ambition might not even have been possible. Bandcamp link here.

Slow Leaves – Shelf Life: It’s not like critics are stumbling over themselves in a hunt for the new Lightfoot in 2020. But hey, FWIW, Slow Leaves is likely the new Lightfoot, or at least the most worthy contender since Doug Paisley dropped the 2011 classic Constant Companion. Davidson sings with a gentle lilt and affecting tremolo, his breezy folk rock designed to be played on crackly vinyl or around a campfire. Davidson sounds like a middle-aged dad, which he is, and this is an ideal midlife rainy day record when accompanied by coffee and/or scotch. It’s not new or dark or sexy; it’s just life. Hard to make that sound exciting in a record review. But hey, if the likes of Leif Vollebekk can crack the shortlist, surely Slow Leaves can. Bandcamp link here.

Rae Spoon – Mental Health: This artist has had quite a rollercoaster two years: they continue to run the best truly indie label in Canada (Coax Records) and they released two of the best albums of their career (including this one). But shortly after cancelling a tour due to the pandemic the non-binary artist announced they were diagnosed with cancer before even turning 40. Rae Spoon’s music has always been about resilience, which means in 2020 an album like Mental Health strikes particularly potent chords. As a former folk country artist who now makes what could be called electro-tinged indie rock, Spoon is first and foremost a classic pop songwriter: their songs are full of earworms, no matter the arrangements underneath. Lyrically, this record taps into the anxiety age with precision, which makes it essential listening. Bandcamp link here.

Storry – CH III: The Come Up: The back story behind this record is fascinating, terrifying, tragic, and a whole other tale unto itself (read Nick Krewen’s profile here). But the short on Storry is that this debut album (don’t let the CH III title fool you) is about her past life as a sex worker after an opera career went astray. She turns her classically trained voice to gutsy and jazzy R&B with some ace players behind her. The slick veneer might be suited to upscale jazz clubs, but the narratives pull no punches. Even if there wasn’t a back-Storry here (sorry), the woman’s voice is enough of a draw on its own. Ain’t no AutoTune here, she belongs on a stage. Won’t even need a microphone.

US Girls – Heavy Light: It’s weird to think of Meg Remy as a Polaris veteran, but this is likely to be her third appearance on a shortlist and another likely winner—I thought she’d take it for 2018’s In a Poem Unlimited, my favourite record that year. Heavy Light picks up where that record left off, and, inspired by her 2018 Polaris performance, features a strong vocal presence from backing singers including arranger Kritty Uranowksi, James Baley (remember that name), and Basia Bulat. E Street saxophonist Jake Clemons also shows up, as do members of Arcade Fire and Ice Cream. The album was recorded largely live in Montreal by Howard Bilerman, and the electric energy is evident. Hard to go wrong with that many all-stars on board, and Remy rises to every challenge: she’s one of the most astute and fascinating lyricists working today, set to beautiful melodies steeped in the history of pop music. Part of this album’s success is due to Remy’s generous and collaborative spirit: she’s not precious about empowering her collaborators, working with co-writers (including Bulat), or even revisiting earlier material from her lo-fi solo days (“Overtime” and “Red Ford Radio” are highlights here). Everything about this exudes empathy and community, which is exactly what we need right now.  

Whoop-Szo – Warrior Down: I’m a lightweight when it comes to heavy music, which makes Whoop-Szo all the more surprising. This is stoner sludgy grunge that packs a wallop, even more so when Adam Sturgeon sings about his family’s experience in residential schools or a cousin being shot by cops in Saskatchewan (The chorus “Warrior down in a Saskatchewan town” says so much with six words, a Neil Young-esque simplicity all political songwriters should study). But this isn’t just a Sabbathian sonic anvil; this band started out as a considerably more experimental project, and there are more delicate moments here and prog diversions and deliciously dirty synth interludes and piano instrumentals. I don’t know who London, Ontario engineer Kyle Ashbourne is, but he’s heavy as fuck when he wants to be, with a Blurtonian touch that serves this material extremely well. Watch out for Whoop-Szo: at least one more record like this and they could turn into the most important rock band in Canada. Bandcamp link here.

Witch Prophet – DNA Activation: I certainly didn’t hear any other Canadian record like this in the last year: Habesha hip-hop beats with an Afrofuturist bent and jazzy saxophone (Karen Ng) throughout. Fans of Erykah Badu’s work with Georgia Anne Muldrow will find a lot to love here. This is hypnotic, healing music for humid days, during days when these lyrics strike deep: “Where do we go from here / When the whole world is falling / Through darkness / And we cannot see the light.” The woman known as Witch Prophet brings that light. Bandcamp link here.

Wolf Parade – Thin Mind: All great bands who feel like they’re hitting a wall should take a seven-year break. It did wonders for Wolf Parade. Both 2017’s Cry Cry Cry and now Thin Mind take everything that was ever intriguing about this group of musicians—as players and songwriters—and amplify all their strengths. Rare is the rock band that actually gets better with age, but this new chapter of Wolf Parade is the prime of their career, and Pacific Northwest star producer John Goodmanson captures it perfectly. Other than the obvious strengths of frontmen Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug, the MVP here is drummer Arlen Thompson, who gives the material a real swing and swagger. Fuck nostalgia, forge the future. Bandcamp link here.

I’ll feel extremely lucky if even half of those 40 records make the longlist.

These next ones are not my bag, but here are 15 artists whose albums are likely to be longlisted, so give them a listen if you haven't already: 

Marie-Pierre Arthur

Backxwash

Daniel Caesar

Dvsn 

Grimes

Flore Laurentienne

Men I Trust

Nap Eyes

Nehiyawak

William Prince

Jessie Reyez

Andy Shauf

Super Duty Tough Work 

Wares

The Weeknd

The official long list will be announced on Monday June 15.

Jurors will then have a chance to submit their shortlist ballot; the shortlist will be announced July 15, and the winner on Sept. 21.

Happy listening! Buy the music you love! 

 

April 2014 reviews

Recommended this month: The Both, Doomsquad

The following reviews appeared, as always, in the Waterloo Record and Guelph Mercury.

 The Both - s/t (SuperEgo)

Aimee Mann almost never makes a bad album—even if they all pretty much sound identical: same impeccable production, same mid-tempo pace. If her lyrics weren’t so smart and incisive and even biting, you could accuse her records of being too polite.

Which is why it’s a tad shocking here, on a full-length collaboration with punk songwriter Ted Leo, that the first time we hear her voice it’s accompanied by a shriek of feedback underneath it. Leo, who is 10 years Mann’s junior, shakes her out of a rut—and not just because of his dirty guitar tone. Unlike a lot of high-profile pairings, The Both sounds like a 50/50 partnership that plays to both artists’ strengths. Even if you didn’t know anything about each performer’s history, it’s evident when every song features not just perfect harmony, but vocals traded off like actual duets—the likes of which barely any pop act other than Stars bothers to write anymore. Both Mann and Leo sound like they’re having fun, discovering the magic they share and raising each other’s game. (April 17)

Download: “Milwaukee,” “Volunteers of America,” “The Hummingbird”

Mac DeMarco - Salad Days (Captured Tracks) 

The term “salad days” goes back to Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, where the heroine says, “My salad days,
When I was green in judgment: cold in blood.” The 24-year-old Mac DeMarco—an Edmonton native who bounced around Vancouver and Montreal before landing in Brooklyn and becoming a buzz act—is definitely in his salad days. His blood, though, is anything but cold. On this, his third full-length (second under his own name), he sounds like nothing at all could possibly raise his blood pressure: indeed, one imagines him sprawled out on a couch, guitar in hand, microphone stand carefully arranged to reach his reclined position, his rhythm section craning their necks to try and intuit changes.

Basing this book on its cover, I had every reason to hate Mac DeMarco. Go ahead: do a Google image search. He comes off as a slacker dressed for a day at the beach in ironic retro-ugly fashion—which seems to go hand in hand with his ’80s guitar chorus pedals that make a god-awful approximation of Pat Metheny slumming with the lo-fi home recording crowd. At times it sounds like the Cocteau Twins’ Robin Guthrie trying to play with Pavement, or the British cloudgazing band The Clientele detuning their guitars in the middle of a song. He almost seems to intentionally be going for the weirdo vote by replicating those strange but beautiful private-press albums from the ’70s, obscurities that existed only in runs of 500 before being reissued in the 2000s with extensively researched liner notes (see: Donnie & Joe Emerson’s album Dreamin’ Wild, on Light in the Attic Records).

If you can get past that—and it might take a while—it becomes clear that DeMarco puts a lot of effort into making music that sounds this effortless, if not, well, bad. He’s a much better guitar player than his crappy sound would suggest, and he occasionally employs unconventional harmonies (or dissonance) in otherwise dreamy (albeit slight) melodies. Every song sounds more or less the same—does that make him lazy or consistent? (April 10)

Download: “Salad Days,” “Brother,” “Johnny’s Odyssey”

Doomsquad – Kalaboogie (Hand Drawn Dracula)

Bewitching beatsmithery from the dark woods of Algonquin Park, created by three siblings who like to filter their worldly influences through a dark haze: sludgy guitars burble up from underneath electronic pulses and looped marimbas, with haunting female vocals chanting throughout. Sometimes a funk groove or a pop song might emerge; sometimes it sounds like you’ve stumbled into a rural rave with a bunch of hippie goths. Kalaboogie isn’t just a silly name for an album; it’s named after Calabogie Lake, just west of Ottawa, where much of this album was recorded with engineer Leon Taheny (Owen Pallett, Bruce Peninsula). Fever Ray meets King Cobb Steelie? Stranger things have happened—and many of them do, here. (April 17)

Download: “When the Dead Become Infants,” “Waka Waka,” “Eternal Return”

Eccodek – Singing in Tongues (Black Swan Sounds)

This is the fifth original album by Guelph’s Andrew McPherson as Eccodek, and never has his global reach sounded so coherent. He’s long dabbled in African and Indian grooves; the fusion of the two is seamless here, even with Balkan vocals and Mediterranean oud and an American hip-hop MC entering into the mix. It sounds much better on headphones than it does on paper. McPherson built the tracks from raw material by his occasional collaborator, Jah Youssef, recorded by Lewis Melville in Youssef’s native Mali. Many other artists try to make music like this, thinking if they throw enough ingredients in the pot and slap a beat underneath it, that they’ll magically achieve musical nirvana. That’s not McPherson. There’s a good reason why this small-town guy has built a formidable international reputation: one listen to Singing in Tongues will reveal what that is. (April 17)

Download: “In Confidence,” “Singing in Tongues,” “In My Tribe”

Michael Feuerstack & Associates – Singer Songer (Headless Owl)

Montreal “singer/songer” Mike Feuerstack is easily an MVP of Canada’s musical underground. He plays or has played with the Wooden Stars, Bell Orchestre, the Luyas, Bry Webb (Constantines), Julie Doiron, Islands, and more. Here, he calls in some favours, writing nine songs for his peers to sing; the guest list includes the Weakerthans’ John K. Samson, Bry Webb, Jim Bryson, reclusive Montreal country singer Angela Desveaux, Mathias Kom (The Burning Hell), Jessie Stein (the Luyas), Little Scream, and Llewyn Davis—whoops, I mean, Leif Vollebekk. Longtime Feuerstack fan and collaborator Jeremy Gara, of Arcade Fire, is on drums. What could go wrong? Nothing, of course. Granted, it doesn’t pack the same wallop that these same singers might have covering the greatest non-hits of Feuerstack’s entire career, as opposed to entirely new material. There’s plenty of time for that—and no shortage of admirers likely to step up to the plate. (April 10)

Download: “Did I?” (feat. Bry Webb), “Stories” (feat. Jessie Stein), “Lost & Found” (feat. Jim Bryson)

Ibibio Sound Machine – s/t (Soundway)

The number of record labels devoted to reissuing African music from the ’70s has recently discovered a rich treasure of contemporary African acts in London, notably KonKoma and Owiny Sigoma Band. Ibibio Sound Machine is fronted by British-Nigerian vocalist Eno Williams, singing in her mother’s native tongue, backed by three producers and KonKoma’s Ghanaian guitarist Alfred Bannerman. They have more in common with early ’80s post-disco dance music than they do ’70s Afrobeat or highlife, favouring synth bass and modern digital production, albeit with a real horn section; at times there is also the distorted kalimba, a futuristic ghetto sound popularized by the Congolese Konono No. 1. Ibibio Sound Machine’s drumming is anything but straight-ahead, filled with tricky syncopation; between that and Williams’s non-English lyrics, it’s clear this is a band thoroughly enjoying itself straddled between two times, two places. (April 3)

Download: “Let’s Dance,” “Prodigal Son,” “I’m Running”

Justin Rutledge - Daredevil (Outside)

What a disappointing month for Tragically Hip fans. First Gord Downie’s much anticipated collaboration with the Sadies turned out largely to be a letdown, and now Justin Rutledge shows up to dump on the legacy of one of the greatest rock bands this country has ever produced.

Sure, The Tragically Hip are songwriters responsible for venerable favourites that deserve to be reinterpreted and rediscovered, and Downie’s lyrics leap off the page as poetry independent of the music. But The Tragically Hip are also a rock band first and foremost, one whose power depends largely on their internal chemistry. Here, the songs are stripped beyond bare by Rutledge, a sad-sack supreme whose music is hard to appreciate from anything but a horizontal position. Even then it can be a cumbersome chore (unusual for easy listening music), despite the high calibre of players he consistently manages to attract.

It’s not impossible to cover the Hip, but it requires imagination: compare Selina Martin’s 2011 electronic reimagining of “Grace Too” and compare it to Rutledge’s limp, somnambulant rendition heard here. Taking one Hip song and dragging it to a dead stop is not a terrible idea—once. And Sarah Polley (of all people) already did that with “Courage,” for The Sweet Hereafter soundtrack more than 15 years ago. Gord Downie’s melodies on their own rarely provide hooks: the Hip’s success has everything to do with his snarling delivery and the riffs and energy behind him. Obviously, none of that is here; oddly enough, Rutledge even seems to avoid the more melodic material available in the catalogue, and gives the best song here, “Fiddler’s Green,” to Jenn Grant to sing.

Nothing about these versions make me rethink the originals or shed new light on their merits; everything about these versions make me want to listen to the originals—or, in fact, anything else at all.

Is there an Anti-Polaris Music Prize for worst Canadian album of the year? If so, there’s no contest. I’ll grant Rutledge this about Daredevil: it’s daring, all right. (April 24)

Download: “Looking For a Place to Happen,” “Escape is at Hand For the Travellin’ Man,” “Fiddler’s Green”

Thus Owls – Turning Rocks (Secret City)

Canada and Sweden: two countries that punch above their global weight when it comes to musical talent. Surely, however, Thus Owls is the first half-Canadian, half-Swede collaboration. Singer Erika Angell (née Alexandersson) met Patrick Watson’s delightfully unconventional guitarist, Simon Angell, on tour in Europe; shortly after, they got married and started Thus Owls, with Swedish bassist Martin Höper and endlessly inventive Montreal drummer Stefan Schneider (Bell Orchestre, Luyas); organist Parker Shper rounds out the lineup. Together, they exist outside of genre or easy comparisons—even to Watson’s particular brand of art-rock. Vocal harmonies recall early Joni Mitchell, while the fearless songwriting, which plays with structure and meter, rarely ventures toward obvious hooks. The music works better on an intellectual level than on a gut one, though Erika’s vocals are more than capable of holding anyone’s attention. (April 10)

Download: “As Long As We Try a Little,” “Bloody War,” “A Windful of Screams”

Tycho – Awake (Ghostly International)

It’s amazing the difference it makes to electronic musicians when they actually form a live band and hit the road. Just ask Nicholas Jaar, who hired guitarist Dave Harrington to help him tour Jaar’s solo project, and their chemistry together led to the collaboration Darkside, arguably the best electronic record of 2013. Here, Tycho, aka San Francisco artist Scott Hansen, invites the live band he toured with to promote 2011’s Dive to join him in the studio. Dive had featured guitar and bass helping to colour the synth-drenched, dreamy, washed-out beats; with a seasoned band in the studio this time, however, Hansen taps into a live energy that steps up his game. Bassist Zac Brown (no, not that Zac Brown, of the Zac Brown Band) is just as melodic as Hansen’s U2-ish guitar lines, while drummer Rory O’Connor ensures that no one will ever again accuse Tycho of being an ambient electronic act. (April 3)

Download: “Awake,” “Plains,” “See”

Whoop-Szo – Qallunaat/Odemin (Out of Sound)

Here’s the pitch: a bunch of freaky noisemakers from Guelph travel to the second-northernmost community in Quebec to run a screen-printing program for Inuit youth, and wind up recording a double album there full of psychedelic jams, field recordings, hushed pop songs, raging prog-rock monstrosities, and anything else the landscape and the -50 temperatures inspired them to do. Even without the backstory, the music itself would inspire you to play it at your next basement party, field rave—or maybe your five-day festival of independent music and arts programming with a special focus on the weird and wonderful (i.e. Guelph’s magnificent Kazoo fest, which took place April 9-13). (April 10)

Download: “Dark Light,” “Has It Been So Long,” “Whale Songs”