Polaris shortlist predictions, Hubert Lenoir, Lydia Képinski

There has only ever been one francophone record to win the Polaris Music Prize: Karkwa’s Les Chemins de Verre, in 2010. It’s now been seven years since a francophone record has made the Polaris Music Prize shortlist, when Galaxie’s Tigre et diesel made the cut in 2011. Not even Coeur de Pirate has managed to break through, despite increasingly solid records and a large live draw outside of Quebec. Galaxie put out a pretty solid new record last year, but it didn’t land on the Polaris long list, announced last month. However, seven other francophone records did (as well as an instrumental record by a francophone, Jean-Michel Blais). Of those, I think Hubert Lenoir’s debut album is likely to shortlist, and I would love it if Lydia Képinski would as well.

The shortlist will be announced Tuesday, July 17.

I fully expect Daniel Caesar, Jeremy Dutcher, Lenoir, U.S. Girls and Weaves to shortlist. I’d place money on it. Usually 50% of the list is a relatively easy pick; the rest is a crapshoot.

I think it’s likely that Bonjay, Zaki Ibrahim, Pierre Kwenders and Partner will also shortlist, along with one record from the acoustic/songwriter contingent that will be either the Weather Station, Donovan Woods, or Jennifer Castle.

I’m basing these predictions on general chatter among Polaris jurors, as well as demographics and past history of voting patterns; there’s nothing scientific going on here. Sometimes the silent majority surprises me and a more mainstream pick makes the list: this year that would be either Alvvays or Gord Downie. Less likely silent majority picks would be Arcade Fire, Bahamas or Sloan.

I would love to be pleasantly surprised and see Cadence Weapon, Képinski or Terra Lightfoot make the shortlist. There’s also an extremely long shot that we might be talking about Vancouver hip-hop crew the Snotty Nose Rez Kids this time next week.

Anyway, back to the francophones. Among the long listed artists, I’ve been a fan of Kwenders for a while (I prefer his debut to this new one, though I’m in the minority there), and both the rapper Loud and Mélissa Laveaux (a Haitian-Canadian now living in Paris) are impressive. But these two debut records really blew me away–eventually, mind you, as they’re both growers. Give them your time.

These reviews will appear in the Waterloo Region Record on Friday July 13.

Hubert Lenoir – Darlène (Simone)

This 23-year-old put his punk band on hold to make a genre-bending pop album, based on a new novel by his friend Noémie D. Leclerc, where the first five tracks jump from jazz piano to ’70s glam to Black Sabbath to gospel-inspired pop to Fleetwood Mac, with plenty of tenor saxophone all over the arrangements, which occasionally nod to Joe Jackson’s 1984 album Body and Soul. It’s totally bonkers in a way that only the Québecois can pull off—or maybe the Flaming Lips, on a good day. Is it a retro record? Absolutely, but it’s also audacious in its scope, and Lenoir has the songwriting chops, the production values, plenty of earworms and the pure vocal charisma to pull it all off. I listened to this record for months before I sought out any video—and it turns out this androgynous singer has major starpower as well. And yes, francophobes, there is one song in English (“Wild and Free”), so you have no excuse not to start there and then dive deeper.

Stream: “Fille de personne II,” “Ton hotel,” “J-C”

Lydia Képinski – Premier juin (independent)

This 24-year-old Montrealer won the $10,000 Francouvertes prize last year for a new Quebec artist. Listening to her debut, it’s more than obvious why: she’s a fully-formed songwriter whose melodies verve in unusual directions, while her music rarely subscribes to conventional chord progressions and her arrangements combine the sparseness of indie-rock solo performers with lush arrangements and rich electronics—both of which are used sparingly. The focus is on Képinski’s remarkably nuanced and assured vocals. All of this displays not just remarkable talent, but a self-assuredness and confidence rarely heard on a debut record. This artist arrives as a complete package, sounding like she’s already conquered the world, even if the world doesn’t quite know it yet.

Stream: “Les routes indolores,” “Premier juin,” “Maïa”

Polaris Music Prize long list 2018

-->

The release of the Polaris Music Prize long list (which took place yesterday) is always a cause for celebration, head-scratching, shrugs—but hopefully also some careful examination. I’ve been doing these breakdowns for most of the prize’s 12-year history; I’m frankly too lazy to go back and document trends, but in terms of how this year plays out, it looks like fewer old favourites than ever before: this is a pleasantly fresh crop. Yes, it’s still largely focused on Central Canadian music, and yes, jazz and metal and mainstream country are nowhere to be found, but beyond those perennial pitfalls I believe this is one of the most diverse and musically rewarding lists to date.

Here’s what it looks like, followed by my breakdown:

Allie – Nightshade            

Alvvays – Antisocialites

Arcade Fire – Everything Now

Bahamas – Earthtones

The Barr Brothers – Queens of the Breakers

Bernice – Puff LP: In the air without a shape

Jean–Michel Blais – Dans ma main

Bonjay – Lush Life

Booji Boys – Weekend Rocker

Philippe Brach – Le silence des troupeaux

Cadence Weapon – Cadence Weapon           

Daniel Caesar – Freudian

Jennifer Castle – Angels of Death

Clairmont The Second – Lil Mont from The Ave

Gord Downie – Introduce Yerself    

Jeremy Dutcher – Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa

Faith Healer – Try ;–)           

FRIGS – Basic Behaviour

Zaki Ibrahim – The Secret Life of Planets

Iskwé – The Fight Within

Kacy & Clayton – The Siren's Song

Lydia Képinski – Premier Juin

Pierre Kwenders – Makanda at the End of Space, the Beginning of Time

Pierre Lapointe – La science du coeur

Melissa Laveaux – Radyo Siwèl

Hubert Lenoir – Darlène

Terra Lightfoot – New Mistakes      

Loud – Une année record  

Milk & Bone – Deception Bay

Partner – In Search Of Lost Time

Propagandhi – Victory Lap

Vivek Shraya & Queer Songbook Orchestra – Part–Time Woman

Sloan – 12

Snotty Nose Rez Kids – The Average Savage

U.S. Girls – In A Poem Unlimited

The Weather Station – The Weather Station

Weaves – Wide Open

Charlotte Day Wilson – Stone Woman

Donovan Woods – Both Ways

Yamantaka // Sonic Titan – Dirt

Familiar faces:

Previous winners: 1 (Arcade Fire)

Previous shortlisters: 7 (Cadence Weapon x2, Jennifer Castle, Gord Downie, Zaki Ibrahim, U.S. Girls, Weaves, Yamantaka/Sonic Titan x2)

Previous longlisters: 10 (Bahamas, Barr Brothers, Jean-Michel Blais, Clairmont the Second, Pierre Kwenders, Milk and Bone, Sloan, The Weather Station, Charlotte Day Wilson, Donovan Woods)

New to Polaris: 22

Debut albums: 11 (Allie, Bonjay, Daniel Caesar, Jeremy Dutcher, Frigs, Iskwé, Lydia Képinski, Mélissa Laveaux, Loud, Partner, Vivek Shraya)

(Hopefully) recognizable names for even those living under a rock: 5 (Arcade Fire, Sloan, Daniel Caesar, Gord Downie, Bahamas)

Hall of famers:

2011 winner Arcade Fire now has four Polaris nods (not including the Heritage Prize they won for Funeral). Always longlisted, never shortlisted, Afie Jurvanen of Bahamas now has a fourth longlist appearance under his belt. Bahamas and Arcade Fire now join other four-time nominees The Weeknd (not longlisted for his EP this year), BadBadNotGood, Basia Bulat, Joel Plaskett, Tom Wilson, the Sadies, Daniel Romano and Patrick Watson.

All those acts still trail Drake, Dan Boeckner and the New Pornographers, who have five Polaris nods each in the prize’s history.

Former two-time shortlisters Yamantaka/Sonic Titan and Cadence Weapon now have another Polaris nod, bringing their tally to three.

Other than Arcade Fire, Y/ST, Cadence Weapon and Bahamas, this is a rather fresh set of Polaris nominees.

QUALIFIER: Everything below can be somewhat subjective, and I’ve no doubt got a few things flat wrong. All corrections are welcome.

Demographics:

Female solo or female-fronted: 19

Male/female partnership up front: 2 (Arcade Fire, Kacy & Clayton)

Acts featuring female instrumentalists who do not sing or lead the band: 1 (Alvvays)

Franco: 7 (plus franco instrumental artist Jean–Michel Blais)

Indigenous: 3

Others with persons of colour, solo or up front: 11

Geezers well past the age of 40: 3 (Gord Downie, Propagandhi, Sloan)

Geography:

This is always tricky, as ever-transient artists often have several cities claiming them, especially when they end up in Toronto or Montreal. Edmonton-born Cadence Weapon made his current record in Montreal and Toronto, where he now lives. Partner formed in Sackville, N.B.; its two members grew up in Goose Bay, N.L., and Summerside, P.E.I., and now live in Windsor. But generally speaking:

Toronto: 17

Montreal: 10 (includes current Parisian Mélissa Laveaux)

Hamilton: 2 (Iskwé, Terra Lightfoot)

Vancouver: 1 (Snotty Nose Rez Kids)
Edmonton: 1 (Faith Healer)

Winnipeg: 1 (Propagandhi)

Calgary: 1 (Vivek Shraya)

Windsor: 1 (Partner)
New Brunswick: 1 (Jeremy Dutcher)

Halifax: 1 (Booji Boys)

Saskatchewan: 1 (Kacy & Clayton)

Genre:

Identifiably rock (extremely broadly speaking): 20

Identifiably R&B/hip-hop: 9

Identifiably acoustic-based modern folk music: 5

Somewhat unidentifiably genre-averse: 6 (Bernice, Jean-Michel Blais, Jeremy Dutcher, Lydia Képinski, Pierre Kwenders, Vivek Shraya)

Weird and/or abrasive music that will scare the shit out of CBC Radio 2 (not counting all the hip-hop, which is certainly off limits, but including Weaves, who is apparently too outré for the nation’s music station in prime time): 10

Left behind:

10 more favourites of mine that deserve your ears, about which I’ll write more later:

Afrotronix – NomadiX

Geoff Berner – Canadiana Grotesquica

Cold Specks – Fool’s Paradise

Daphni – Joli Mai

Dennis Ellsworth – Things Change

Julie & the Wrong Guys – s/t

Peggy Lee – Echo Painting

The Sorority – Pledge

Maylee Todd – Acts of Love

Whitehorse – Panther in the Dollhouse

My picks

The final three records the jury will likely be arguing about at the September gala, from which one winner will emerge: Daniel Caesar, Jeremy Dutcher, U.S. Girls

Pre-Polaris 2017 Day One: A Tribe Called Red, BadBadNotGood

Hey! Long time no blog. I’m writing a book with no time to lose. Details here. Early excerpt here. But I felt I had to return for the annual Polaris posts.

The 12^th Polaris Music Prize gala is being held on Sept. 18, at the Carlu in Toronto, where 11 jurors locked in a room will decide which one of 10 shortlisted artists will get $50,000. All other nominees receive $3,000.

Every day this week I’ll look at two of the shortlisted albums, assess their chances, and celebrate two albums that didn’t make the shortlist—or, in some cases, even the long list. 

A Tribe Called Red – We Are the Halluci Nation (Pirates Blend)

The album: (review from Sept. 22, 2016)

This Tribe just got a whole lot bigger. 

Yes, this three-man DJ trio from Ottawa is poised to accelerate their ascent from local club nights to critical acclaim to Coachella with this, their third album, two years in the making. 

But while in the past they built their sound primarily from samples of powwow groups licensed from the Tribal Spirit label, this time out they reached out directly to acts like Northern Voice and Black Bear, both based in the Manawan region of central Quebec. That’s not surprising. 

This time out they also welcomed to the Tribe kindred spirits Tanya Tagaq and Leonard Sumner, as well as Kenyan-Canadian Shad, and Colombian-Canadian Lido Pimienta. They’ve gone international, inviting African-American poet Saul William, Tuscarora North Carolinian singer Jennifer Kreisberg, and Maxida Märak, a Finnish singer of the Sami people. We Are the Halluci Nation takes its title from John Trudell, the legendary activist and poet of the American Indian Movement; the recordings he contributed to this project were among the last he ever made before he died of cancer last December.

It’s easy to uncharitably suggest that all A Tribe Called Red does is merely marry powwow singing to EDM, a chocolate-and-peanut-butter mash-up that continues to pay rich dividends here. There are certainly moments that succumb to EDM clichés, but Tribe has always had a broader musical vision in play—as one would expect from a group whose every intention is to shatter stereotypes. The trio doesn’t just lazily cut and paste: the rhythms underneath emulate the powwow drums while simultaneously turning them on their head for the digital age. The percussive playfulness with Tagaq is delightful; the tracks with Pimienta echo the electro-cumbia sound of modern South America. Lead single “R.E.D.,” which features Yasiin Bey (a.k.a. Mos Def), Iraqi-Canadian MC Narcy and Black Bear, rides a slow, grinding, heavy riff that could be a Black Sabbath cover. 

Music aside, Halluci Nation articulates resistance in ways rarely heard in hip-hop and practically never in EDM (“As First Nations people, everything we do is political,” pointed out the liner notes on 2013’s Nation II Nation). And the album doesn’t even include their 2015 “Thanksgiving special” single “Burn Your Village to the Ground.”

It’s not an understatement to say that A Tribe Called Red is redefining public consciousness of Canada’s First Nations people. One listen to this record will make the reasons why incredibly obvious.

Later thoughts:

As much as I love what this album is, I wish I loved this album more. It’s likely my age, but the more EDM moments drag this album down a bit for me. A solo record by former member DJ Shub, released a few months later, reminded me of what’s missing on this record: a real sense of swing and funk, as heard on the Nation II Nation single “Sisters.” I’m still more interested in hearing how much further they push their sound, but neither pondering the past or imagining the future should take away from how strong this album is on its own.

The chances:

Excellent. Consider this a coronation. The fact that it features fellow shortlisters Lido Pimienta and Tagaq, as well as former shortlister and host Shad, makes this prime Polaris bait. This would actually be the most Polaris win ever. It’s all but inevitable.

Badbadnotgood – IV (Arts and Crafts)

The album: (reviewed July 7, 2016)

From Led Zeppelin IV to Black Mountain IV—hell, even Foreigner 4—and now the fourth album from Toronto hip-hop/jazz band Badbadnotgood, putting the number four in a title suggests you’re saving your best ideas for the music, not the marketing, and the fourth album is the ideal time to crystallize the myriad directions the band had taken up until now. 

For Badbadnotgood—who, after starting out with jazz covers of hip-hop tracks came into their own on a full-length collaboration with Ghostface Killah and their 2014 album III—this finds them stepping up their game once again, moving away from hip-hop slightly (collaborations with Kaytranada and Mick Jenkins notwithstanding) and toward the funk of Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters and the cinematic esoterica of space-age bachelor pad music a la Esquivel or Broadcast. They also dip into sultry soul music, with pop songs sung by Charlotte Day Wilson and a particularly surprising turn by Future Islands’ Sam Herring, on which he channels the late Bobby Womack. 

Part of IV’s success is the natural evolution of these young players, but also the permanent addition of saxophonist Leland Whitty, whose guest spots on III were a highlight. Nonetheless, they enlist avant jazz star Colin Stetson to lend a beefy, baritone bottom end to “Confessions Pt. II,” where he trades leads with Whitty while the band vamps on what could be a ’70s action film soundtrack underneath.

Exciting as it is, even better is anticipating where this band will venture next. Because it sounds like the sky’s the limit.

Later thoughts:

Still love it. Voted for it. Finally saw them live, and was blown away. And goddammit, that Sam Herring song is one of my favourite songs of the last year.

The chances:

Next to A Tribe Called Red? Zip. The game here is to try and figure out which three of the 10 shortlisted records the jury will end up voting on after two elimination rounds. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was one of them, as the only thing remotely resembling a hip-hop record here (note: it’s not a hip-hop record). Previous winner Kaytranada shows up here, as does two-time shortlister Colin Stetson and likely future shortlister Charlotte Day Wilson.

The could’ve been, should’ve beens

Phillipe B – La grande nuit vidéo (Bonsound)

The album:

This year had more franco artists on the long list than ever; none made the shortlist. This one probably should have. Phillipe B owes equal debts to Nick Drake and French chanson; these spare songs for either acoustic guitar or piano are embellished by gorgeous and haunting string arrangements, evocative and cinematic textures that elevate the songwriter’s subtle strokes.

Why it didn’t make it:  

This was a revelation to me on this year’s long list, and it’s a grower; its release two weeks before the Polaris cutoff might have hurt its chances. There’s another sad-sack Montrealer who made the shortlist instead of Philippe B, but I can’t fathom how anyone could pick the Leif Vollebekk record over this one. Oh wait—it’s in French.

Japandroids – Near to the Wild Heart of Life (Arts and Crafts)

The album: (reviewed January 22; my Maclean’s piece here)

“If they try to slow you down, tell them all to go to hell.” So went the chorus to “The House That Heaven Built,” one of many anthems on 2012’s Celebration Rock that vaulted Japandroids from poorly kept secret of the Vancouver underground into beloved rock’n’roll saviours. And yet they did slow down: guitarist Brian King moved to Toronto; drummer Dave Prowse stayed in Vancouver; they took two years writing and recording this, their third album and first in 4½ years.

Japandroids are a guitar-drums duo, but there’s nothing simple about them. Wild Heart is a huge leap forward in terms of songwriting, performance and production. Whereas before they could be accused of simply extending a lineage that runs from Bruce Springsteen to the Constantines, here they really come their own. These are much more than just drunken Saturday night odes to youth, romance, rock’n’roll and the open road (not necessarily in that order) that used to be Japandroids’ stock and trade. That still exists here: “North South East West” is exactly the kind of fist-pumping catharsis one expects from this band; expect this one to be a key part of the soundtrack of 2017. But they’re both in their mid-thirties now, and so their signature intensity is being applied to varying tempos and textures, including instrumentation that will be difficult to duplicate onstage as a duo. Wild Heart is very much an album as opposed to a live document. 

Slowing down, in more ways than one, has made Japandroids an even better band. Great rock bands are getting fewer and fewer. This one is fighting the good fight.

Why it didn’t make it:

Polaris is traditionally allergic to Western Canada, but I don’t think that was the problem for these former shortlisters. Fans of the first two records felt the band was pushing themselves beyond their reach here, citing the 7.5-minute mid-tempo “Arc of Bar” as exhibit A. To each their own: I thought that track and others made this more interesting than the non-stop fist-pumping that this band obviously excels at. Hell, I’d give them the Polaris for “North South East West” alone. But that’s me. Others knocked the lyrics, and if you didn’t get past the title track I’d kind of understand why: “I used to be good and now I’m bad.” The last verse of the song uncomfortably evokes an old anti-abortion film that Christian youth of yore will no doubt remember, in a downright clunky couplet: “It was bedlam in my bed that night / And like a silent scream / My body broke out in a sweat / From seeing you in dreams.” (For those fortunate not to know, the 1984 film was called The Silent Scream.) Anyway, Polaris or no Polaris, this band is laughing all the way to Massey Hall, where they’re headlining on October 24.

Tomorrow: Leonard Cohen and Gord Downie