Pitchfork

The votes are in, and the winner of this year's Polaris Music Prize-- along with $20,000 big ones and the respect and adulation of his Canadian countrypeople-- is...um... Patrick Watson's album Close to Paradise. Yeah.

Paradise beat Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, Feist's The Reminder, The Besnard Lakes' The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse, Junior Boys' So This Is Goodbye, Julie Doiron's Woke Myself Up, Chad VanGaalen's Skelliconnection, Miracle Fortress' Five Roses, The Dears' Gang of Losers, and Joel Plaskett Emergency's Ashtray Rock to claim the title of "BEST CANADIAN MUSIC OF 2007 EVER." Guess Canadians like this guy?

Mr. Watson follows in the fleet footsteps of Mr. Owen Pallett, whose He Poos Clouds record under the Final Fantasy guise took the top honor last year.