Drake in his video "Headlines."

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The Ryersonian reviews the five albums that are up for Album of the Year at the Junos and our pick for who should win the award.

Take Care

Take Care takes the Toronto-bred rapper back to his roots. Before his lackluster debut with Thank Me Later, Drake introduced a new brand of hip hop to the masses with his mixtape, So Far Gone. Drake's tracks are full of smooth R&B vocals overlaid with synth beats produced by Noah ‘40’ Shebib. Take Care is generally a better album than Thank Me Later. Songs like "Headlines" and "Lord Knows" showcase Drake’s skills as one of the standout rappers in hip-hop today and he shows off the vocals that made him famous in the first place with songs like "The Real Her" and "Practice" that appeal to his large female audience. Fans will love"Take Care," his dance-inspired song with pop princess Rihanna. He raps about money, women and partying, like most rappers, but his bravado in rapping his lyrics carries this album, and notable appearances by Rick Ross, Lil’ Wayne and Andre 3000 make it one of the best of 2011.

Leave it to Michael Bublé to add his signature jazz twist to Christmas classics. The Canadian crooner’s 2011 holiday release isn’t the most innovative album of the year. But there’s no question that Bublé fans are clearly digging his latest CD; the album sat at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart for many weeks. His smooth vocals are a perfect fit for most of the songs, which include covers of “White Christmas,’ “All I Want for Christmas is You,” “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” and other well-known holiday songs. Tackling fan favourites such as Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You” can be a tricky feat for any artist. However, Bublé is able to make it his own by slowing down the tempo. That goes for other songs, including “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “White Christmas.” The album includes a number of guest singers: Thalia, the Puppini Sisters and Canadian country star Shania Twain are all featured on the CD. Still, only Buble fans will enjoy this album. If you weren’t a fan of the singer before, he won’t win you over with this one.

Metals

Surely, Metals doesn’t possess the same pop grandiosity as Feist’s last record, The Reminder, but that’s exactly what makes this record a success and our pick for Best Album of the Year. Leslie Feist reaches back into her folk roots and hones in on her ability to craft emotionally-grappling tunes that are refined but still showcase her raspy, melancholic vibrato. The focus on Metals has shifted away from crowd-pleasing singalongs – mind you, Feist didn’t even write “1234” – and geared forward towards a coherent album filled with swaying instrumentals, slow-burning tracks that build layer after layer and, please, let’s not forget her kick-ass guitar skills. Feist can sing but she is also arguably one of the best guitar players out there right now. All of these are most evident on songs such as opening track “The Bad in Each Other” and the re-recorded “Anti-Pioneer” (originally written and recorded on 1999’s Monarch). There’s a sense of comfort that underlies the album and shows a maturity in Feist’s musicianship. She’s finally settling into her musical capabilities and if this is just the beginning, the world needs to watch out for what’s to come in future recordings.  

Goodbye Lullaby

Avril Lavigne moves away from the pop-punk tunes that made her famous in Goodbye Lullaby, her fourth studio album. The CD has a couple of songs that sound similar to her “Girlfriend” single, which appeal to her original fan-base. But it also features songs that take a more mature approach, including “Smile” and “Push.” The Canadian singer worked with many high-profile producers, including Max Martin (Britney Spears, Robyn), Butch Walker and even her ex-husband (Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley). It’s always nice to have multiple producers working on a single album so that the songs don’t all sound similar. That’s definitely not the case with Goodbye Lullaby; the album features up-tempo tracks as well as slower songs. Lavigne may win over a few more fans with this one. Unfortunately, it’s failed to garner the buzz that her breakout album, Let Go, and her sophomore release (Under My Skin) received.

Here and Now

Nickelback is a band that people love to hate and this continues to be the case with the release of the group’s seventh album. Here and Now uses the formula that Nickelback seems to always win on. It’s a lot of the same that we’ve already heard. The band plays it safe by combining Chad Kroeger’s deep vocals with overlaying  melodies of heavy metal drums and guitars and throwing in a catchy hook. Songs like "Bottoms Up" and "When We Stand Together" are already radio hits and they do what Nickelback songs do best: get stuck in your head when you least expect it. "Lullaby" and "Holding on to Heaven" tap into the Alberta crooners sensitive side, but borderline on cheesy rather than romantic. Here and Now transcends genres, moving from rock to pop and bordering country music at times, and the album delivers a wide variety of songs. Nickelback fans will love this album, but for the rest of us listening, it’s more of the same.

Under the Mistletoe

Justin Bieber is an undeniably good pop artist whether we’d like to acknowledge it or not. His penchant for catchy hooks and memorable melodies has been evident for the past handful of years, littering the airwaves with earworm after earworm. That may not be your cup of tea, but that probably hasn’t stopped you from waking up one day with one of his songs stuck in your head. Admit it. On Under the Mistletoe, Bieber channels all those characteristics into a jolly collection of Christmas songs; a gift of sorts to his loyal Beliebers. For the most part, there’s nothing particularly special about Under the Mistletoe that makes it a standout, must-own record for the holidays, but there is one highlight that redeems the entire album. The updated classic “All I Want For Christmas” brings its original singer Mariah Carey together with Bieber for a revamped take on the holiday staple and gives something for fans of all ages - definitely one song that parents and children probably agreed on. Although a solid album from beginning to end, it is questionable as to why a Christmas record is nominated for Album of the Year. Sure, maybe it was the best Christmas album of the year but, even then, that’s pretty debatable.