Each week, CBC Music producers come together to highlight Canada's best new tracks.
This week, we have songs from Metric, Helena Deland and more. Scroll down to find out why you need to hear them.
What are the Canadian tunes you're currently obsessed with? Share them with us on Twitter @CBCMusic.
'Just Fine,' Desiree Dawson
During her live shows, Vancouver-based Desiree Dawson tells the audience “not to let fear hold you back.” Even if you feel you aren't ready for something, you should just do it. Though she was full of self-doubt, she didn't let that hold her back when she entered and ultimately won the 2016 CBC Searchlight competition. With her new single, Dawson puts down her signature ukulele and adds in subtle pop beats that compliment her warm, encouraging voice, telling herself — and others — that everything will be just fine.
— Jeanette Cabral
‘omw,’ Sylo Nozra
While the rest of us have been dragging our feet during this summer’s insane heat and humidity, Toronto’s Sylo Nozra has been on a creative spree, dropping three new tracks this month alone. Of these, “omw” stands out as the perfect antidote to our heat exhaustion, with its laid-back steel pan accompaniment and Nozra’s cool falsetto. “I’m on my way,” he sings (elucidating the song’s title), and you’ll be on your way to a breezy rooftop deck, refreshment in hand, to chill out for the night.
Hear Nozra and all your favourite R&B and soul musicians on CBC Music’s Marvin’s Room with Amanda Parris.
— Robert Rowat
'Dressed to Suppress,' Metric
Over the past two decades, Toronto band Metric’s sound has really stretched to all corners of the synth-rock spectrum, from soaring, ethereal pop anthems to rough and tumble rock 'n' roll. On their latest single, “Dressed to Suppress,” we get a bit of everything — a “maze of conflicts,” as singer Emily Haines describes — that’s soundtracked by sonic twists and turns. The track interrogates the lengths at which we go to find love, as Haines howls the main refrain, “Her beauty is a form of charity/ dressed to suppress all kinds of sorrow,” over a tidal wave of crashing drums, bass and guitars. Haines wants to break free of these performative contradictions, and this song is her cry for liberation.
— Melody Lau
'Claudion,' Helena Deland
Montreal singer-songwriter Helena Deland pivots from lo-fi acoustic to synth-pop with her addictive new single, “Claudion,” which is part of her colourful new collection From the Series of Songs "Altogether Unaccompanied.” The song’s gentle electro pulse ropes you in from the get-go, highlighting Deland's nonchalant croon and a perfectly understated beat drop. Sounding a little Goldfrapp, a little early Grimes, Deland is clearly carving a unique space for herself in Canadian synth-pop with an accessible, summery approach that’s not too little and not too much — it’s just enough.
— Jess Huddleston
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