Jungle Bobby's ode to the dance floor, and 5 more songs you need to hear this week

Here at CBC Music, we're always on high alert for new songs by Canadian artists.

This week, we're listening to new tracks from:

• La Force.
• Jungle Bobby and Lentra.
• Devon Cole.
• Chxrry22.
• Avry.
• Michaela Slinger.

Scroll down to find out why you need to listen, too.

What new Canadian tunes are you currently obsessed with? Share them with us on Instagram @cbc_music. 

To hear more about these standout songs, tune in to CBC Music Mornings every Thursday (Canada-wide) with producer Ryan Chung and host Saroja Coelho, and Here and Now with Gill Deacon every Wednesday afternoon (in Toronto). Both are available via CBC Listen.

'Condition of Us,' La Force

Ariel Engle has lent her songwriting and voice to many projects over the years, including Broken Social Scene, Safia Nolin, Big Red Machine and recently teaming up with Godspeed You! Black Emperor's Efrim Manuel Menuck to form the duo, All Hands_Make Light. Thankfully, in between it all, she has found time to return to her solo project, La Force, and she's now gearing up for the release of her sophomore album, XO Skeleton, out Sept. 29 via Secret City Records.

"Condition of us" is its opening track, an immediate deep dive beyond one's exoskeleton into the gooey centre of a person that holds tenderness, love and more. Described by Engle as a "portrait of adoration, a love-affair that's long-term, messy, fervent and profound," "Condition of us" was the result of Song a Day, an invitation-only songwriters' circle organized by engineer Phil Weinrobe during the pandemic. Engle's voice, wise and warm, envelopes the track, which is otherwise backed by minimal instrumentation. Her words wrap around the music in odd ways at times, like a stream of consciousness versus melody, but the love that's beaming from Engle is undeniable, constantly returning to phrases that conclude she, or the bond she's singing of, is enough. If this is just the beginning of XO Skeleton, we can't wait to explore what else it has in store for us. — Melody Lau

'The Moves,' Jungle Bobby, Lentra

Back with their sixth single of 2023, Vancouver musicians Jungle Bobby and Lentra deliver a total vibe with "The Moves," a life-affirming, funk-leaning celebration of poetry in motion. You'll hear strains of Mac Miller and Anderson .Paak in Jungle Bobby's tidy, quasi-sung rap. "These moves keep movin', they don't stop/ These shoes, they slide on a sidewalk," he expounds, expertly syncopating the beat. Lentra's deep experience with BBNO$ shines through in the song's outstanding production, with bell-like electric piano punctuating the phrases and hair-raising stratospheric synth-strings counterbalancing the throbbing bassline. Hit play and discover the moves you didn't even know you had. — Robert Rowat

'1-800-GOT-STRESS,' Devon Cole

Throughout her growing catalogue, Calgary pop singer Devon Cole has shown us time and again that she's comfortable taking charge as well as centre stage — empowerment anthems "W.I.T.C.H." and "Nobody's Baby" are perfect examples — but this year the hitmaker has been letting us in on her vulnerabilities. Following up her heartbreak single "Call U After Rehab," "1-800-GOT-STRESS" is an anxiety-fuelled earworm where Cole spills her worries and coping strategies, singing on the chorus: "Is there someone I could call?/ 1-800-GOT-STRESS/ operator, could you drown out all the voices in my head?" Describing her lifelong struggle with anxiety in a press release, Cole said: "I wanted to create a song that conveys those feelings of helplessness. All I needed in those times of mental struggle was to feel seen. I hope people who listen feel seen." When you bop along to that bassline and the one-two-threes in the chorus, I think Cole's wish will come true. — Holly Gordon

'Worlds Away,' Chxrry22

Long distance relationships are not for the faint of heart. They can be anxiety-inducing and ultimately, the distance can become detrimental, which Chxrry22 knows intimately. The Scarborough-raised alt-R&B singer's latest single is all about the small ways a bond can fracture when you're worlds away from the person you love. The song blends majestic strings with a subdued Jersey club bassline that becomes the heartbeat of the track. Chxrry22 is a recent signee to the Weeknd's XO Records, and after releasing her debut EP, The Other Side last September, she quickly stood out as one to watch in the ever-evolving R&B space. "Worlds Away" is her first single of 2023 and the DJ Camper-produced track unfolds like a stream of consciousness spilling out of a diary. "FaceTime couldn't save us…. without the distance we'd be perfect," she sings in the second verse, proving that even with access to modern technology that's meant to make us feel closer than ever, nothing beats the real thing. — Kelsey Adams

'Pillows,' Avry

When you lose someone you care about, there's often a feeling of hollowness that arrives shortly after. Singer-songwriter Avry expertly hones in on this emptiness on "Pillows," his floaty, falsetto-filled track that's brimming with airy instrumentation. "One night depressed and the next so obsessed," he sings about a love interest that's slipping away. The melancholy track finds the beauty in release, swerving between longing and detachment over downcast melodies. It's his last plea for a partnership that's run its course to stay frozen in time, before he allows himself to let go of it. "Being afraid of change is something I resonate with and a lot changed in my life during the last year," Avry said in a statement about the song's forlorn themes. "'Pillows' is an extension of that feeling." — Natalie Harmsen

'This Can't Last Forever,' Michaela Slinger 

I wake up in disbelief
How are you still here with me?

Part of growing up is realizing that one of the certainties in life is that nothing lasts forever. But that acceptance of temporality can also breathe uncertainty into things like love, as singer-songwriter Michaela Slinger expresses on the title track of her latest album, This Can't Last Forever. "This can't last forever/ I'm running out, right out of time/ You'll find someone better," she sings over a shimmering pop chorus, revealing the fear and anxiety that lie underneath even some of the strongest relationships. Because if everything ends, what gives us the confidence to believe this love can endure? And sometimes the answer is that you don't know — "but we could try" is what Slinger offers, an acknowledgement that commitment and effort may not equate to eternity, but the best we can do is try anyway. — ML