Grand Analog — Metropolis Is Burning

Metropolis Is Burning may not be the very best Canadian hip-hop release of the year (though it comes close), but it's certainly the most diverse.

The Toronto hip-hop band's sophomore album combines frontman and rapper Odario Williams' rhymes with folk on "Her Daddy (Don't Like Me)," reggae on "Take It Slow (Spaces & Places)," straight-up rock with "I Play My Kazoo" and jazz on "Stir Crazy."

There's not a single bad song on the album, which is peppered with heavy-hitting guests like Shad, Cadence Weapon and Antibalas' Martin Perna.

And by placing two previous Polaris Music Prize short-listers on the album, you have to wonder if fate is hinting that Grand Analog might find themselves in a similar position this year. One can only hope.

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