because i now write about arts and culture as my job, this had the simultaneous effect of scratching the ol’ “criticism itch” that this project used to do and sapping any residual motivation i might have put toward listening to and reviewing all 40 o’ these things. and now that the Polaris short list’s been released, and i already looked at it, the intrigue’s all gone! to wrap things up, i’ll just listen to the remaining short list contenders i didn’t write about in the first two posts in this year’s series and call it quits.
so: to Allison Russell, BAMBII, Charlotte Cardin, Cindy Lee, DijahSB, Elisapie, and Jeremy Dutcher – congrats! (albeit only begrudgingly in Cardin’s case because that album wasn’t good.)
and to the three artists below – congrats, also.
Set Your Pussy Free by NOBRO
oh nice! i saw these ladies open for PUP a few years ago and now they’ve hit the big time with their first Polaris nomination! i’m happy for ’em. and i’m also happy to listen to this assemblage of irreverent punk tunes about being a dirtbag loser. that’s so me! a bit too many “whoa”s for my liking and the production’s a bit flat, but hey. ya can’t be expecting perfection outta everything.
highlights: “Let’s Do Drugs,” “I Don’t Feel Like It,” “Let’s Get Outta Here.”
rating: “good.”
Blame My Ex by The Beaches
i’m of the opinion that breakup songs that pin blame for relationship failure entirely on the singer’s former partner (instead of engaging in the requisite self-reflection to realize that you, too, have your flaws), broadly speaking, are some of the most tedious and obnoxious songs a person can possibly write. i bring this up for no particular reason. (to make up for it, at least this album sounds like “Screaming Females if they were boring and sucked”!)
highlights: “Cigarette,” which has a guitar melody with a slightly post-punk vibe. it is entirely for this reason that i can’t chuck the whole album into the garbage can.
rating: “better luck next time.”
Panic by TOBi
hell yeah,, there’s some really groovy beats and well-placed samples in here. i am unfortunately too drunk rn to comment on this album further.
highlights: “Someone I Knew,” “Flatline,” “Hoodwinked,” “All Night Long.”
rating: “top notch.”
“the mags shortlist”
regular readers of my blog will note that i usually close these annual “polaris projects” by listing the 10 albums i’d prefer to see on the shortlist, but that wouldn’t feel right this time around. after all, i did only listen to 23 of the longlisted albums, so that means i have sufficient information to comment on a mere 57.5 percent of the sample. thus, i offer you approximately 57.5 percent of a shortlist (rounded up):
- LES MANIÈRES DE TABLE by Annie-Claude Deschênes
- A Chaos of Flowers by BIG | BRAVE
- Diamond Jubilee by Cindy Lee
- Mimi by Corridor
- Goodnight Summerland by Helena Deland
- Panic by TOBi
in conclusion: Cindy Lee should win, in my opinion, but who the heck knows. because the Polaris voting system is absolutely ridiculous: the “grand jury” that votes on the award consists of 11 members, of whom 10 are selected to advocate for each of the nominees, which means that the ultimate winner only needs two (2) fuckin’ votes to take home the big prize? what the hell??? who decided this?
but whatever. it’s not my problem. have a good one, folks.
ruminations of a sad oaf. 