Angine de Poitrine Win First Polaris Album and Song Double

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Quebec duo Angine de Poitrine have won the 2026 Polaris Album Prize for Vol. II and the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize for "Fabienk." Pitchfork reports that they are the first act to win both of Canada's top Polaris honours. The prizes were presented on September 22 at Massey Hall in Toronto, closing the 2026 Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony, according to the Polaris Music Prize. $40,000 in prize money The album win came with $30,000 from the Slaight Family Foundation, and the song win added $10,000 from SOCAN, Polaris says. Pitchfork confirms the amounts in Canadian dollars. The wins were announced by two-time Polaris winner Jeremy Dutcher and Tanya van Luven, SOCAN's chief membership officer, immediately after the duo performed "Fabienk" live. "Unexpected, yet entirely deserved" The band's manager, Sébastien Collin, accepted on their behalf. "That all this attention is being directed toward music this rock-driven and this complex is unexpected, yet entirely deserved," he said in a statement published by Polaris. "This artistic project is the result of a lifetime of refinement, collaboration, a drive to push beyond one's limits, and a refusal to be confined by any established framework," Collin continued. "Beyond the innovation and the extreme level of difficulty, the band has managed to create music that is incredibly catchy and accessible, which makes it all the more impressive." Who they are Pitchfork describes Angine de Poitrine as a masked, polka-dotted duo made up of guitarist-bassist Khn and drummer Klek, and calls Vol. II a math-punk LP. Polaris credits "Fabienk" to Khn de Poitrine and Klek de Poitrine, published by Third Side Music. Pitchfork adds that the band recently made their US TV debut, playing "Zugzegk" on Fallon. Key facts Polaris Album Prize: Angine de Poitrine, Vol. II ($30,000, Slaight Family Foundation) SOCAN Polaris Song Prize: "Fabienk" ($10,000, SOCAN) Date: September 22, 2026 Venue: Massey Hall, Toronto Jury: 205 members Heritage Prize designations: The Watchmen, McLaren Furnace Room; Willie Dunn, Willie Dunn (1971) The shortlists Polaris lists the 2026 Album Short List as Angine de Poitrine (Vol. II), Aquakultre (1783), Begonia (Fantasy Life), Bibi Club (Amaro), Charlotte Cornfield (Hurts Like Hell), Beverly Glenn-Copeland (Laughter In Summer), Rochelle Jordan (Through The Wall), Les Louanges (Alouette!), Peaches (No Lube So Rude) and Tanya Tagaq (Saputjiji). The Song Prize shortlist featured "Fabienk"; Charlotte Cornfield's "Hurts Like Hell"; PUP's "Hunger For Death"; Patrick Watson and Martha Wainwright's "House on Fire"; and Charlotte Day Wilson and Saya Gray's "Lean." The results were decided by the 205-member Polaris jury of music media and experts through multiple rounds of voting and Grand Jury debate, Polaris says. The prize judges Canadian music on artistic merit alone, without regard to genre, sales or label. Past winners Angine de Poitrine follow Yves Jarvis, who won the album prize in 2025 for All Cylinders, Pitchfork notes. The inaugural song prize in 2025 went to Mustafa for "Gaza Is Calling." The ceremony was recorded for a future episode of CBC Music Presents: Live At Massey Hall. Canadian music awards have been busy this season; see also our SOCAN Awards 2026 report . "Weird and complex" music, rewarded The Canadian Press, in a report carried by The Globe and Mail, says the duo accepted in their signature black-and-white polka-dot outfits and masks with elongated noses, and bowed to the crowd. The pair, who claim to be extraterrestrials, communicate only in a made-up language of chirps, squeaks and guttural sounds to stay anonymous. Collin later told reporters that it feels like a "parallel world" when complex indie music is rewarded. "I also feel that they're kind of proud that it's more an artistic prize, more than marketing or something about statistics. It's about music," he said. According to The Canadian Press, the friends from Saguenay, Quebec, play microtonal math rock. Their worldwide fame took off after a performance clip for Seattle radio station KEXP went viral in February. They released their debut album, Vol I, in 2024, and most of their remaining 2026 dates, including London, Paris and Los Angeles, are sold out. What's next Polaris says performance videos and winner reveals are available through CBC Music, with the full ceremony to air later on CBC Music Presents: Live At Massey Hall. Explore more music from Canada and rock on Entzopedia. Sources: Polaris Music Prize | Pitchfork | The Globe and Mail / The Canadian Press