BADBADNOTGOOD

IV

On their fourth effort, these Toronto jazz experimentalists transcend their jamband tendencies, for the first time adding vocalists (Future Islands’ Sam Herring, Mick Jenkins) to their blissful lounge cuts. The result is an LP full of effortlessly slick R&B jams, custom tailored for your dimly lit boudoir.

Why it should win:

It’s the year’s sexiest record, and not just by Cancon standards.

WEAVES Weaves

Take a generous spoonful of peanut butter and jelly, smear it all over a bacon cheeseburger, and you’ll get a culinary approximation of what these Toronto art-rockers’ debut sounds like. An odd juxtaposition of influences merge in a surprisingly pleasant tickle trunk of cacophonous, wonky, weird noise.

Why it should win:

It makes the guitar/bass/drums shtick sound inventive — no small feat in 2017.

LEONARD COHEN You Want It Darker

Nine decades into his career, a month before his death, the High Priest of Pathos released a bleak masterpiece of a last testament. After a lifetime of inquiry, Cohen takes stock of this anxious world and his time on it, letting out one last painful, frightening, gorgeous sigh. Why it should win:

Because Cohen is the GOAT. Duh.