At 11:59 P.M. EST tonight, my last official act as a member of this year’s Polaris Music Prize Jury will be executed, and my top five choices from this year’s long list will go towards narrowing the field down to 10 albums for the short list. Discussions between judges in our online group have ranged from the defense of certain album’s being on the list, to rallying cries behind long shot favourites. I say with great certainty that when the chips land where they will, our top 10 albums will be a reflection of the diverse Canadian music scene, and the broad range of tastes of the jury members who’ve helped in determining the nominees. I would love to go on and be a member of the grand jury who will pick the winner the night of the Polaris Gala (September 21, in Toronto), but that’s yet to be determined, too. There will be plenty of time for discussing the 10 when they’re announced July 7; today I feel compelled to take a quick look at some of the albums that I’ve not looked at in this forum, and possibly turn some QBiM readers onto a new diversion.

Super-charged, both musically and politically is Toronto band Fucked Up, whose The Chemistry of Common Life is a voracious punk album that truly is a high watermark for the genre. I initially thought that this would be the most intense album on the long list to listen to, but in all actuality it’s not (I’ll tell you which one is later). For all of its bluster and blast, The Chemistry of Common Life is a very melodic album that grows on the listener. Like a deep drag on a joint, Fucked Up hits you hard between the eyes and then dissipates into a fine numbness that soothes and settles your nerve endings while simultaneous firing hundreds of neurons in your brain. MP3: Fucked Up “No Epihany”

So, what is the “most intense” album on the long list? I’m giving that distinction to Tim Hecker’s An Imaginary Country, based on the sheer mind-fuck experience I’ve had listening to his ambient electronic instrumental compositions. Hecker’s work was nowhere near my radar before his name showed up on my list, but I’m certainly glad I’ve been exposed to his work. I hesitate to call the 12 tracks on this album “songs”, but there is clearly a musical through-line amidst the noise and swelling sub-sonic rumbles that pulse through his work. Atmosphere is everything, and the experience of listening to An Imaginary Country alone in a dark, intimate space was akin to a psychedelic-induced hallucination where I crossed a vast alien continent by foot, covering miles in a single step. MP3: Tim Hecker “100 Years Ago” Myspace: Tim Hecker

Neither of these albums will make my final top five ballot. Neither will 33 other discs, many of which I consider to be excellent albums, and one of which was actually on my long list ballot earlier this month (oh, I bet you’re just dying to know which one is off my list, but I think that’s going to have to wait for another post). When the chips fall where they will, all 40 of this year’s nominated artists–shortlisted or not–deserve our love and respect. They stand among giants, and we, the music consuming community, are basking in the glow of their amazing accomplishments.

It’s been a pretty good year, if you ask me.