Polaris Prize creator Steve Jordan unveils this year's short list in Toronto Monday morning. (Pedro Mendes/CBC)

Indie rock from both emerging and established artists dominates the 2008 Polaris Music Prize's short list, which organizers unveiled in a laid-back ceremony at a downtown Toronto nightclub Monday morning.

The indie rock wave is led by Winnipeg veterans The Weakerthans, nominated for their latest album, Reunion Tour.

Other rock acts vying for the $20,000 prize include Montreal bands Plants and Animals (Parc Avenue) and Stars (In Our Bedroom After the War), Vancouver's Black Mountain (In the Future) and Charlottetown's Two Hours Traffic (Little Jabs).

"It's nice that there's one [award where] you could have a band on the short list that nobody's heard of, but then you find out about this great band," Liam Corcoran of the pop-rockers Two Hours Traffic said of the Polaris honour on Monday.

"We wouldn't have found out about bands like Miracle Fortress last year if not for this award. It's good for that sort of thing," added his bandmate Alec O'Hanley.

Alec O'Hanley of Two Hours Traffic, here being interviewed for CBC Radio 3, says the Polaris Prize is a good way to discover new acts. (Pedro Mendes/CBC)

Two more experimental acts also made the cut: Toronto band Holy F---, for their album LP, and Dundas, Ont., artist Caribou, for his album Andorra.

Rounding out the list are Ottawa singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards (Asking for Flowers ), singer-songwriter Basia Bulat (Oh, My Darling ) and hip-hop artist Shad (The Old Prince), both from London, Ont.

Shad, whose full name is Shadrach Kabango, said given the strength of the longlisted acts, it was a "huge surprise" to be named a finalist.

"Those are some really, really good records," he told CBC News. "I'm a fan of a lot of the artists."

And though rock music is the dominant genre this year, Shad said that he is grateful for his turn in the Polaris spotlight.

"I really appreciate that people have listened to the record with a sympathetic ear to where it comes from," he said. "I hope that it will put a light on what is going on in hip hop in Canada, because I'm definitely not the only one doing it."

Polaris founder and former music executive Steve Jordan established the fledgling Canadian prize to recognize the best full-length Canadian album of the past year, judged on artistic merit and without regard to either genre or sales figures. The award is inspired by Britain's esteemed Mercury Prize.

Past winners are Patrick Watson and Final Fantasy.

A cross-Canada panel of 185 music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers determines a long list of semifinalists, released in June, as well as Monday's 10-entry short list. A smaller panel of 11 judges will ultimately select the winner.

The third annual Polaris Music Prize will be awarded at a gala, hosted by CBC Radio 3 host Grant Lawrence, at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre on Sept. 29.