Image via Illustrator/Corbin Portillo
Strange to say of a time of world-historical disruption and catastrophe—when live concerts are beginning to look like relics of the past, touring has ceased completely and indefinitely, and the end of traditional promotional avenues has made it virtually impossible for artists to hype their releases—but 2020 has been one of the best years for Canadian music in memory.
From boundary-pushing R&B to chart-topping indie pop, from new classics from long-time legends to stunning debuts from fresh voices, there’s been such a wealth of amazing albums that when your headphones are on, it’s easy to forget we’re in the middle of a global pandemic. With all that’s been happening, we’ve never needed the sweet relief of great music more badly. So it’s with gratitude that we celebrate our favourite Canadian records of the year so far.
20. Freakey!, 'Désolé Pour L'Attente'
Label: Independent
Released: April 10
A forward-thinking Montreal beatmaker on the rise here, who’s already made inroads in Europe and the U.S. crafting beats for Hamza and Don Toliver. Freakey!'s solo debut features a who’s who of francophone rap characters like Rowjay and Jeune Loup, but it’s the producer’s spacey sonics that star throughout. If producer albums offer a chance to spread one’s wings while remaining in the driver’s seat, Desole Pour L'attente (Sorry for the Wait) is a tight CV of otherworldly, interstellar future beats that his stable of hometown heroes unanimously knock out of the park. He could’ve used this opportunity to work with American MCs, but he’s loyal to his native tongue and there’s a familiarity with his rappers you just can’t recreate with a few email swaps. Besides, everyone involved in this release clearly ascribes to the belief that weirder is better, and Freakey’s beats let them all run wild. —Erik Leijon
19. Loony, 'JOYRiDE'
Label: Independent
Released: April 23
Loony’s JOYRiDE is one of those everlasting introductions to an artist you’ll never forget. It’s full of soul music that invokes any number of feelings: nostalgia, romance, regret. It feels like summer: the heat of a bad decision disguised as a good one. Her vocal and production arrangements hit like sunshine during a spring shower. And the feels rain down on this one. The inspirations are real, too, and underneath Loony’s vocals, the heaviness of the lyrical content still looms. Muddied with a mixture of cynicism and precision, Loony can never be honest enough. She’s completely in tune with herself on “iN CODE,” singing brutally and beautifully on “WHiTE LiE,” avoiding emotional relapses on “NO!" As long as it lasts, JOYRiDE is incredibly fun, proving that Loony is an undeniable mainstay in Toronto’s growing R&B scene. —JJ Bottineau
18. Friyie, 'Before The Flight'
Label: ANF Collective
Released: June 26
On Before The Flight, Friyie is a master of mood and melody. With no features to speak of, the Toronto rapper captivates over nine tracks solely on his own. He immediately shows out on intro “Ride With A Real One,” exemplifying a sense of growth and maturity as an artist. In essence, Friyie knows he has his sound figured out. The quality never wavers either; he’s honed-in and focused from start to finish. On “Flawless,” he flaunts his wealth (“Hundreds all up in my sweats/I just came back from Quebec”); “Girl Collection” pronounces his fascination with women (“I’m surrounded by big freaks”); “Glockie” is as short as it is irresistible (“I be posted with the glooockiiiiee”), and then it all culminates on the pensive “Time Clock” (“All of my family/I gotta feed like 21 people”). If Friyie is this concentrated on Before The Flight, we can’t wait to see where he's going to land. —JJ Bottineau
17. Aquakulture, 'Legacy'
Label: Black Buffalo Records
Released: May 8
The journey of groovy Haligonian Lance Sampson from five-year sentence to CBC Searchlight to Legacy is the stuff of legend, so when the singer gets on the mic on this stunning release, it's no surprise there's urgency and emotion in his voice. His band—Nick Dourado, Jeremy Costello, Nathan Doucet—are equally up to the challenge, giving the album a rough-and-tumble underpinning that fits Sampson's storytelling. You can even hear the bandmates pushing each other verbally throughout, making the listener feel like they're in the National Music Centre recording room right along with them. Legacy's indomitable spirit and sense of camaraderie is a thing to behold and cherish. —Erik Leijon
16. Caribou, 'Suddenly'
Label: City Slang
Released: February 28
Under his Caribou moniker, Dan Snaith doesn’t miss a beat with his ability to make you dance on Suddenly. It’s a cathartic album touching on love, loss, introspection, and self-improvement; a raving, glistening collection of what ifs, how comes, and what nows, making it a veritable metaphor for how 2020 has turned out for most of us. Snaith’s production shimmers, bouncing along, aching with thoughtful sentiments on numbers like “You And I,” “Never Come Back,” and “Like I Loved You.” These songsprovide a delicate, bittersweet energy throughout while addressing the relationships that shaped him. It’s enough to make you spin, and Snaith expresses himself dazzlingly enough, phasing and flanging through a variety of emotions. In the end, Suddenly will ask you to reflect on life with a newfound empathy. —JJ Bottineau
15. Smoke Dawg, 'Struggle Before Glory' Deluxe Edition
Label: 878
Released: June 19
The deluxe rerelease of Smoke Dawg’s posthumous LP is a bittersweet listen. To be re-immersed in the Toronto rapper's distinct flows and reminded of the edgy ambiance of Halal Gang’s reign is truly nostalgic. But ultimately, it serves as a grim reminder of all that was lost when the 21-year-old was murdered in 2018. The album’s most stirring track is a voiceover ("SB4G Interlude"), where Smoke Dawg reflects on his ascent in his own words. The bonus tracks—including high-profile remixes of "Still" featuring Giggs and "Trap House" featuring French Montana—all happen to bang. While it is a reminder of his immense talent, the takeaway from Struggle Before Glory is that Smoke Dawg didn’t get to fully enjoy the glory that was coming to him. —Sumiko Wilson
14. U.S. Girls, 'Heavy Light'
Label: 4AD
Released: March 6
Meghan Remy can do no wrong. Her albums as U.S. Girls, including 2015 breakthrough Half Free and 2018’s superb In a Poem Unlimited, have only been getting better and better—a hot streak capped off with Heavy Light, her latest and strongest record to date. It kicks off with the propulsive, exhilarating “4 American Dollars,” Remy’s most accessible pop-oriented song ever, which, probably not coincidentally, has emerged as her first mainstream hit. But the edges of her unique sound haven’t been sanded off in the process: Heavy Light, happily, is as delightfully weird and charmingly abrasive as anything she’s yet done. —Calum Marsh
13. Lido Pimienta, 'Miss Colombia'
Label: ANTI‐
Released: April 17
Harkening back to the Palenque music that became popular in Colombia and permeated throughout the surrounding regions, Lido Pimienta’s Miss Colombia is an ethereal and anthemic love letter. It’s full of defiant criticisms directed at a multitude of oppressors: an album for anyone who can relate to—or learn from—Pimienta’s Afro-Colombian heritage and experiences fighting against racism, colourism, and misogyny. Leaving behind most of the electronic elements from her 2017 Polaris Prize-winning debut, La Papessa, Pimienta looks to her history in order to move forward, reaffirming her cultural identity while reinvigorating traditional sounds through the guise of her own lens. Miss Colombia encapsulates a painful, yet beautifully empowering idea describing what it means to be an Indigenous Afro-Colombian queer woman in North and South America. Canada and Colombia are lucky to have her. —JJ Bottineau
12. Elaquent, 'Forever is a Pretty Long Time'
Label: Mello Music Group
Released: February 21
The Guelph producer has been a prolific beatmaker the last decade, but Elaquent's Mello Music Group foray expands his horizons with a guest or more on nearly every track. The underground faves find a home in Elaquent’s aqueous jazz and soul productions that are crisper than your dusty legends but understand and revel in the lineage of hip-hop production. Forever is a Pretty Long Time has got the encyclopedic smarts of a cult release you might find on Brainfeeder, only it’s effortlessly smooth. The Chester Watson-guested “Airwalk” soars while remaining grounded with confident percussion, while soulful “Chase the Light” glides like a classic in waiting. Elaquent has managed to make a major statement while letting others do the talking. —Erik Leijon
11. Tory Lanez, 'The New Toronto 3'
Label: Interscope Records
Released: April 10
[Editor's note: This list was created before the recent allegations that Tory Lanez shot Megan Thee Stallion in the foot.] When it comes to The New Toronto 3, Tory Lanez wants you to ask yourself one question: "Yo, what's the difference between my 458 and your 488?" Luckily for us all, Lanez answers spectacularly, going quintessentially “Stupid Again” across a 16-track runtime proving why he’s among the best. If November’s Chixtape 5 was the gas then this is the nitro, and Monica isn’t even an afterthought here. Lanez swerves between rapping and singing so effortlessly, so enthrallingly, it must be wildly unnerving for his competitors. New Toronto 3 features a maxed-out, level-100 version of Tory Lanez. Blending all of his styles and strengths together, follow him on an epic odyssey—there’s something for everyone. —JJ Bottineau
10. Backxwash, 'God Has Nothing to Do With This You Leave Him Out of It'
Label: Grimalkin
Released: May 28
Ashanti Mutinta unapologetically slays a few demons—literal and metaphorical—on this personal deep dive that ties the scars of her upbringing and current headspace in a definitive battle. The Ottawa-Montreal rapper and producer grew up in the church, and while in some ways it feels like distant memory on this hard rock-and-heavy metal-sampling exegesis, the haunting iconography remains. Backxwash goes hard over Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix samples (is there any other way?), confronting the darkness with, well, even more darkness. If the beats and rhymes are so claustrophobic, why is the album inexplicably uplifting in parts? Like the forgiveness-peddling preacher sample that closes the album suggests, holding it all in can have a physical toll, so it’s beneficial to let things go. —Erik Leijon
9. PARTYNEXTDOOR, 'PARTYMOBILE'
Label: OVO Sound
Released: March 27
Like Ester Dean, PARTYNEXTDOOR has the classic songwriter’s curse: so much talent for writing and producing hits that he’s doomed to remain best-known for making more famous artists sound good. But while the man behind Rihanna’s “Work” and Kanye’s “Ghost Town” made his name first and foremost behind the scenes, his latest album PARTYMOBILE proves that has what it takes to make a killer record all on his own. On tracks like “Savage Anthem” and “Split Decision,” PARTY is completely in his zone, bending the trademark OVO sound to his own moody, evocative purposes, and stepping out as the undeniable star while doing it. —Calum Marsh
8. Junia-T, 'Studio Monk'
Label: 3-5 Playa Production Inc.
Released: January 24
Studio Monk is Toronto at its smoothest. Producer and DJ Junia-T’s 13-track album is a perfectly curated time capsule, featuring OGs like Adam Bomb and newcomers like Faiza. It’s an easy, skip-free listen from "Tommy’s Intro," narrated by River Tiber and Sean Leon to the jazzy, dreamy outro 54 minutes later. Studio Monk is perfectly cohesive, without being predictable or monotonous. You hear familiar voices trying their hand at new vibes, with the comfort of Junia-T behind the boards. —Sumiko Wilson
7. Nav, 'Good Intentions'
Label: XO Records/Republic Records
Released: May 8
Like it or not, Nav is one of the architects of Toronto’s post-Drake sonic landscape. No, we haven’t forgotten about his past indiscretions. No, the paparazzi don’t know who he is. But his impact is undeniable. And until Good Intentions, his presence as a music star was more obscure than some of his contemporaries. His production credits and feature verses tended to get more recognition than his solo material. But Good Intentions is star-making. His expertise behind the boards led to masterful beat selection. The ultra-personal opener ("Good Intentions Intro") sets the tone for the project; he’s taking centre stage and telling his own story, not playing a supporting character in anyone else’s. —Sumiko Wilson
6. Jessie Reyez, 'Before Love Came to Kill Us'
Label: FMLY/Island Records
Released: March 27
Although she’s been widely respected since her early R&B single “Figures” found chart success when it dropped in the summer of 2016, it seemed like 2020 was the year when Toronto native Jessie Reyez was poised to finally blow up for real. COVID-19 cut short her tour with Billie Eilish (and what would have been her first-ever Coachella performance), but the universal critical acclaim behind her outstanding, genre-defying album Before Love Came To Kill Us has ensured that Reyez will still secure the stardom she’s clearly owned by talent alone. If this is what she’s made of 2020, imagine what she’ll do come 2021. —Calum Marsh
5. Drake, 'Dark Lane Demo Tapes'
Label: OVO/Republic Records
Released: May 1
Some initial reviews dismissed Drake’s 11th project as predictable, but a Drake demo isn’t your typical studio rough cut. On Dark Lane Demo Tapes, Drake is at his most experimental. While he has long settled into his hit-making formula with go-to producer 40, these songs are tonally moodier than what we have been hearing from The Boy in recent years. He tries his hand at Brooklyn drill alongside newcomers Fivio Foreign and Sosa Geek on "Demons" and returns to his broody lovamon roots on "Time Flies." He’s true to himself and what he likes to create, but unafraid to branch out and adapt with the times. Yes, “If she’s bringing four friends I know I’ll hit at least one” is very likely to be autobiographical. But he also gets real about co-parenting and losing friends. It’s the perfect case study on rappers growing up and depicting their changing realities. And in that respect, Drake is aging gracefully. —Sumiko Wilson
4. Chiiild, 'Synthetic Soul'
Label: Avant Garden
Released: February 28
Yoni Ayal and Pierre-Luc Rioux are a couple of old, restless souls with an impressive array of new tools. The result of their impeccably mature collaboration is Synthetic Soul, a short and sweet collection of timeless pop that wouldn’t sound out of place alongside the hits of today, yet has the robust and expansive instrumentation of an expansive 70s studio production. Psychedelic trip “Back to Life” (with a guest vocal by Shungudzo) flips the script on reincarnation, while “Pirouette” is all sensual, slinky summer fun in a Corvette. It’s perhaps not surprising that Ayal is a Montreal expat living in Los Angeles: the warm tracks on Synthetic Soul never feel far from the sun, even if one senses it was created by a pair of wandering spirits. —Erik Leijon
3. Grimes, 'Miss Anthropocene'
Label: 4AD
Released: February 21
Now that she’s so frequently stealing headlines as one half of the world’s most divisive power couple, it can be easy to forget that Grimes is still none other than Claire Boucher, a weirdo art freak from Montreal possessed of a highly original voice and some truly staggering talent. When she’s not adjacent to industrial and technological superpower, she’s still making great music, pushing the absolute outer limits of what’s possible in the realm of contemporary pop. Miss Anthropocene is her biggest, boldest, and most intensely innovative album to date, suggesting that no matter how far Elon Musk pushes into outer space, Grimes has already beaten him there. —Calum Marsh
2. DVSN, 'A Muse in Her Feelings'
Label: OVO Sound/Warner Records
Released: April 17
If there was any doubt before, A Muse in Her Feelings confirmed that Dvsn are the Toronto duo leading the R&B renaissance. Today, the genre is often held back by its fixation on the past. But Dvsn have perfected their take on classic R&B, by lightly steeping their sound with old-school homages to set the tone, without ever feeling derivative. A Muse in Her Feelings also has one of the most exciting sets of features this year, with tracks from Buju Banton, Summer Walker, Jessie Reyez, and label mate PARTYNEXTDOOR. The hour-long project is destined to be a classic. —Sumiko Wilson
1. The Weeknd, 'After Hours'
Label: XO/Republic Records
Released: March 20
Abel Tesfaye’s distinctive, singular trilogy of debut mixtapes as The Weeknd—House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence—were such indelible game-changers when they dropped in succession in 2011 that almost overnight it seemed the entire landscape of hip-hop and R&B in this country would never be the same again. It would have been enough for this upstart musician from Toronto to rest on his laurels, or in any case to continue churning out more of the same dreamy, atmospheric material that made him famous. But that’s not Abel Tesfaye. As his incredible new album After Hours handily proves, The Weeknd isn’t content to stagnate, preferring instead of push the boundaries of his style in a bid to keep evolving. After Hours is candid, expressive, and wildly ambitious, and makes abundantly clear that The Weeknd isn’t just a one-time game-changer, but an artist for the ages. —Calum Marsh