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Songs you need to hear is CBC Music’s weekly list of hot new Canadian tracks.
Scroll down to discover the songs our producers are loving right now.
For even more new music, check out our SYNTH playlist on YouTube.
Best Days, Ruth B.
Ruth B. is an expert at pulling on heartstrings; her songwriting hits the core of what it is to be human and vulnerable. Her latest single, the third from her upcoming album, Peace to Make (out Aug. 21), narrows in on a fear that can come after a great love: the worry that one will never experience that exact whirlwind of emotions again. Best Days trucks along with rhythmic guitar and a sprinkling of percussion, as Ruth B. confronts her fear: “And I’m so scared that I won’t laugh like that/ won’t kiss like that/ won’t trust like that again…/ I’m just scared that those were the best days of my life.” Ruth B. is not alone in this sentiment, we all have moments from our pasts that we wonder if we’ll ever feel again. She distils that reality so purely that even if you’re not currently experiencing the ending of something great, your heart will break right along with her. — Kelsey Adams
Around You, Black Ken, K. Forest
Over simple percussive hand claps, singer K. Forest has switched up his blend of silky R&B for house music, stepping into collaborator Black Ken’s Plastic World. On the pair’s upcoming EP, danceability is paramount, and on Around You K. Forest sings, “Baby, baby, baby, baby if I’m on your mind, would you give me the time?” before the beat swoops in. Wanting to give things a try with a potential love interest, he lists all the ways this person has captured his attention, from her looks (“Lately, lately, lately, lately you’ve been looking so fine”) to her presence (“Intimate thoughts running through my mind, when I’m with you girl”). It’s an infectious ode to falling in love on the dance floor, with crisp production emphasizing just how jubilant K. Forest’s foray into house music has been thus far. — Natalie Harmsen
Men Into Boys, Owen Riegling
With summer officially upon us, heralding the classic yearly rhythms of schools wrapping up and warm days stretching out ahead, Owen Riegling has delivered the perfect anthem with his vibrant new single, Men Into Boys. A nostalgic, coming-of-age gem centred on hometown roots, friendship and the passage of time, the track captures the magic of childhood friends reuniting after life gets busy, stripping away the weight of adulthood to return to a simpler time. Riegling seamlessly bottles the feeling of letting loose and hitting pause to enjoy life’s simple pleasures, making the song an apt and resonant addition to any summer playlist. Over an uptempo and emotive soundscape, Riegling delivers the heart of the track with the lyrics, “Feels like aging in reverse every time that I come home…./ We’ve lived some life/ but we’ll always find our way/ back to times that turn men into boys.”
The first new single following his sophomore album, In the Feeling, Men Into Boys kicks off an exciting new chapter for the singer-songwriter. True to form, Riegling continues to showcase his rural roots of Mildmay, Ont., through his music, blending an immersive, acoustic, country-rock soundscape with unvarnished, small-town storytelling. — Stevie Carter
Mess In a Dress, Moira & Claire
Halifax-based Moira & Claire released their sophomore album, It’s All a Mess, last month, and the closing track has been on repeat since. “Digging my own grave/ lay in it with me/ why don’t ya, don’t ya?” they sing invitingly, despite the macabre sentiment, opening with the beautiful harmonies the sister duo has built their sound on. Mess In a Dress builds and breaks down alongside each vulnerable verse, as they sing about falling apart and needing to “force quit.” The song’s video, directed by Joey Chapman and featuring dancer Clara Reynolds-White, is picture-perfect: as the sun scans the oceanside field, Reynolds-White twirls and tumbles to the ground only to get right back up again, her near-possession so fitting for the song’s title. Moira & Claire reflect shades of First Aid Kit, have been suggested as the perfect fit for fans of boygenius (not wrong!), and their covers have gone viral (“Better than the original,” Noah Kahan posted on the sisters’ 2022 version of his song Stick Season). But what they’re creating is wholly their own: two sisters spilling their hearts, shoring each other up and letting us in along the way. We’re just lucky we get to hear it all in harmonized motion. — Holly Gordon