Pitchfork

Photo by Shannon McClean

Better luck next year, Black Mountain, Stars, Holy Fuck, Plants and Animals, the Weakerthans, Basia Bulat, Kathleen Edwards, Two Hours Traffic, and Shad: Caribou's Andorra has won this year's Polaris Music Prize, aka Canada's version of the Mercury Prize. Congratulations, Dan Snaith.

The award is given annually to the album by a Canadian artist deemed to have the highest artistic merit, with no concession to album sales. A panel of media types (full disclosure: it includes a few Pitchfork contributors) pick the winner, who gets $20,000 and international fame and fortune. Last year's winner was Patrick Watson's Close to Paradise, and the nod has certainly raised his profile beyond the borders of his home country, eh? Ahem.