Arcade Fire, Neil Young on Polaris prize long list

Arcade Fire's Grammy-winning album The Suburbs and Neil Young's Juno-winning Le Noise are among the albums vying for this year's Polaris Music Prize.

A long list of 40 albums in the running for the Polaris, a prize for the best Canadian album, regardless of sales, was released Thursday in Toronto.

Montreal's Arcade Fire was asurprise winner of album of the year at the Grammys in February with The Suburbs, an alternative rock album billed as a reflection on the way we live now.

Young's Le Noise, produced by Canada's Daniel Lanois, also received ample attention, including a Grammy for the track Angry World anda Juno for the album itself.

But the Polaris, chosen by a jury of music critics and aficionados, traditionally goes to less high-profile artists, such aslast year's winner Karkwa and 2007 winner Patrick Watson.

There are plenty of unknowns on the long list released Thursday and amix of music genres ranging from free jazz to hip hop to alt-country.

Music from across the country is represented, including St. John's Hey Rosetta!, Halifax's Jenn Grant, Hamilton's Luke Doucet and Vancouver's Destroyer, but the list is heavy on Montreal bands such as Malajube, The Dears and Miracle Fortress.

The full list:

• Arcade Fire, The Suburbs.
• Austra, Feel It Break.
• Black Mountain, Wilderness Heart.
• Braids, Native Speaker.
• Buck 65, 20 Odd Years.
• Louise Burns, Mellow Drama.
• D-Sisive, Jonestown 2: Jimmy Go Bye Bye.
• The Dears, Degeneration Street.
• Destroyer, Kaputt.
• Diamond Rings, Special Affections.
• Dirty Beaches, Badlands.
• Luke Doucet and The White Falcon, Steel City Trawler.
• Eternia & MoSS, At Last.
• Galaxie, Tigre Et Diesel.
• Jenn Grant, Honeymoon Punch.
• Tim Hecker, Ravedeath, 1972.
• Hey Rosetta!Seeds.
• Hooded Fang, Album.
• Imaginary Cities, Temporary Resident.
• Land Of Talk, Cloak and Cipher.
• Little Scream, The Golden Record.
• The Luyas, Too Beautiful to Work.
• Malajube, La Caverne.
• Miracle Fortress, Was I The Wave?
• One Hundred Dollars, Songs Of Man.
• Doug Paisley, Constant Companion.
• PS I Love You, Meet Me At The Muster Station.
• Daniel Romano, Sleep Beneath the Willow.
• The Rural Alberta Advantage, Departing.
• Ron Sexsmith, Long Player Late Bloomer.
• Shotgun Jimmie, Transistor Sister.
• Sloan, The Double Cross.
• Frederick Squire, March 12.
• Stars, The Five Ghosts.
• Colin Stetson, New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges.
• Timber Timbre, Creep On Creepin' On.
• The Weeknd, House Of Balloons.
• Women, Public Strain.
• Neil Young, Le Noise.
• Young Galaxy, Shapeshifting.

A Polaris short list will be released July 6 and the winner will be declared Sept. 19.