Arcade Fire wins Polaris Music Prize

Arcade Fire's The Suburbshas won the Polaris Prize, the $30,000 award that honours the best Canadian album of the year.

The winner of the prize,established in 2006, was announced in Toronto Monday evening.

Drummer Jeremy Gara, multi-instrumentalist Richard Parry andsinger Win Butleraccepted the award on behalf of the band, calling it a great honour.

"Since the beginning of our career we've been trying to get paid in an oversize novelty cheque and it's never happened till now. So thanks, Polaris!" Parry quipped onstage.

Butler added some advice for young aspiring musicians.

"[To] anyone who's like under 18 and playing music and trying.Everyone who's on the stage tonight has had some sort of opportunity to play music and have someone hear it in some way. Before you get that chance, you feel like a crazy person, if you're born to play music," he said.

"Just like make [an] amazing record, put your whole heart into it. You don't get anything for not trying as hard as you can, so just go for it."

The Suburbs has alreadywon a Grammy, a Brit Award and a Juno award for album of the year, but backstage, Parry acknowledged that the band is still not accustomed to winning accolades.

"Just so you guys know, all this stuff makes us profoundly awkwardfor real," he said, adding that the band would direct the winnings toward their Montreal studio.

Chosen on merit

ThePolaris Prizeis chosen solely on merit, without regard to album sales or previous recognition. The judges hailed the album as "beautifully composed" and"evocative and powerful."

"It's not as much about picking a winner at the end of the whole contest as it is about the conversation that happens about the music," prize founder Steve Jordan told reporters after the ceremony.

The Suburbs was this year's most prominent nominee and widely seen as the album to beat. But much feted singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith also was shortlisted for his highly crafted 12th album Long Player Late Bloomer the album he labours over in the recent documentary Love Shines.

The full short list of nominees:

• Torontos Austra for Feel It Break.
• Montreal-based Braids for Native Speaker.
• Vancouvers Destroyerfor Kaputt.
• Vancouver Montreals Galaxie for Tigre et diesel.
• St. Johns Hey Rosetta!for Seeds.
• Torontos Ron Sexsmithfor Long Player Late Bloomer.
• Montreal's Colin Stetsonfor New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges.
• Peterborough, Ont.'s Timber Timbrefor Creep On Creepin' On.
• Toronto's the Weekndfor House Of Balloons.

Each finalist receives $2,000. The prize pot for the winner was increased this year from $20,000 to $30,000.