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Better Know Your 2010 Jury #28: Patrick Boyle June 24 2010
Name: Patrick Boyle (Calgary)
Contirbuting writer,FFWD Weekly
Polaris Jury Member since: 2008

Please share the Top 5 Canadian albums you put on your first ballot.

Ghostkeeper Ghostkeeper
Frog Eyes Paul's Tomb: A Triumph
Sunset Rubdown Dragonslayer
Owen Pallett Heartland,
Radio Radio Belmundo Regal

Tell us about your top ranked choice. Why #1?

I love the Ghostkeeper album. It was a real revelation for me because as many times as I've seen them play live, I've never really felt a strong connection to their tunes. That all changed when I threw on their self-titled, which is more or less their formal debut. It certainly wasn't an instant favourite, but songs like "Well, Well, Well" drew me back for more and more listens and at some point I recognized that I had fallen hard for the record.

Shane and Sarah have such a strong lyrical dynamic between them. The way they bat vocals back and forth really has a tendency to tease out the more interesting bits of wordplay and spotlight the quirky melodies that underpin them. Most importantly, I have a feeling I will be listening to it for a long time, which is something I consider fairly important when weighing the relative merits of albums for my Polaris ballot.

What record that's perhaps local or under the radar did you suggest to the jury and/or would like to plug here to the whole world?

The five albums on my ballot all deserve more recognition than they get, but there are a few that I would add to that list. Sports is an offshoot of Vancouver's Ladyhawk (a band perennially overlooked by my fellow jurors, in spite of my best efforts) and their vinyl-only debut Drumheller on Triple Crown Audio was a heck of a record. It's noisy and brash, but I find it remarkably easy to listen to. Sinistrio is a Calgary-based organ trio that pumps out some absolutely spectacular spaced-out jazz. Their 2010 disc, Ride the Dragon, is the sort of thing that makes me think the denizens of our fair city should be paying a lot more visits to specialty music joints like the Beatniq to support a scene that has generated some absolutely magical stuff. Another release that I personally endorsed was D-sisive's Jonestown mix-tape, which he posted for free online. I'm not sure I'd call this guy under the radar, but I'm not sure how many people are aware of this sort of giveaway that is absolutely chock-full of insightful rap goodness.

Describe the state of the Canadian music industry in five words or less.

Better than a wet-fish-belly-slap. Hyphenated words only count as one, right? So... that's four!


Imagine the tables are turned and you are the nominee: What would you do with the $20,000 prize money?

I would probably buy a new stereo and a crap-load more records. Maybe a new bike, too. Oh, and laser eye surgery, I guess. I've never had enough money to get ideas about how to spend it.

Related Link: FFWD Weekly

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