Another week assessing one of the 2010 Polaris Music Prize nominees brings us to the hugely popular Tegan and Sara and their latest album, Sainthood. I'll spend the show evaluating the record's chances and handing out copies of Sainthood to five lucky bloggers this morning.
Tegan and Sara may just be the best-known, top-selling band
nominated for this year's Polaris Prize, yet somehow, of this year's
artists, I'm the least familiar with their music. I've seen them play
Guelph twice, once in 2000 when Royal City opened for them, the next time when they brought ex-Weezer bassist Matt Sharp
along to open for them a few years ago. People the world over love them
but I guess I never had the chance to spend any time with their records
until now.
I get the appeal of Sainthood; it's a
punk-infused, emotive pop-rock throw-down rendered by confident young
women, who conjure really infectious hooks. Yes, Sainthood
contains really nifty arrangements, but it does seem to suffer from repetition. It sounds great and there's something
compelling about each verse, chorus, and/or bridge. Having said that, my feeling is
that it's a tad redundant on occasion.
Of course, that's just me; I could be wrong (I was once wrong about something in 2007). How will the jury see Sainthood? Let's guess:
RIGHTFUL RANK: BOTTOM FIVE
LIKELY RANK: 8
(I know there's only a "#1," but humour me)
STRENGTHS: Popular and internationally acclaimed album;
infectious, charging music with interesting sonic choices; one of the
most 'mainstream' and well-established nominees this year; would raise
the Polaris brand and profile among younger music fans
WEAKNESSES: Rarely hear my critic colleagues gushing about Sainthood; again, even for a good pop album, I hear some flaws; not particularly innovative for an "artistic merit" award; Polaris generally gravitates to really underground, less established, D.I.Y. artists who can most benefit from the prize/dough
OVERALL STATUS: SADLY, UNLIKELY TO WIN IN 2010
How do you imagine Sainthood will fare in the 2010 Polaris Music Prize sweepstakes? What is its stiffest competition?
I have five copies of this CD to give away to the 12th, 26th, 40th, 82nd, and let's say 115th people to post on this here blog. If this ends up being you, please e-mail vish_khanna@cbcradio3.com with "Sainthood Sainthood" in the subject line, and your blog moniker and shipping address in your message.
Old or new, Canadian or otherwise, what is YOUR album of the week?
