Orville Peck's 'Born This Way' cover, and 4 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:

• Jon Vinyl.
• Orville Peck covering Lady Gaga.
• Tobi.
• Keys N Krates feat. Bibi Bourelly.
• Zanski. 

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 Twitter @CBCMusic.

Hit play on our Songs You Need to Hear stream, filled with songs that CBC Music's producers have chosen for their playlists, and tune into CBC Music Mornings every Thursday to hear CBC Music's Jess Huddleston and Saroja Coelho reveal which of these tracks is the standout new Canadian song.

'Told You,' Jon Vinyl

Sorry for my actions
How about we hit the mattress?

Jon Vinyl may still have a thing or two to learn about diplomacy in the boudoir, but his singing surpasses his own high standards on this new single, "Told You," from an EP due out later this year. The slow jam showcases the "Addicted" singer's seamless voice, a gentle caress whether he's low in his register or floating his falsetto. In a press release, Vinyl explains that the song is an open letter to his lover during a communication breakdown: "I felt like I needed to let her know that she is my person and that we can get through this." He makes a persuasive case, with a sonorous bass line and delicate electric piano chords supporting his plea, "What if I told you, told you, told you, your heart's made for mine?" — Robert Rowat

'Born This Way' (Lady Gaga cover), Orville Peck

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of her hit album Born This Way, Lady Gaga will be releasing an album of covers by LGBTQIA+ artists and allies (out Sept. 3). So far, Gaga has revealed two artists involved in the project: Big Freedia and Orville Peck. The latter has transformed the album's title track from a pop banger into a country hit. Officially dubbed the "country road cover," Peck takes the pride anthem to the rodeo, complete with searing riffs, pedal steel guitar and a stomping drum beat. With its slowed-down tempo, Peck takes his time delivering some of the song's most iconic lyrics, but he also puts his own stamp on the track by adding the line: "If I wanna make it country, baby it's OK/ I was born, I was born, I was born this way." (He also updates "No matter Black, white or beige/ Chola or Orient made" to "Asian or Latinx made.") Not only does this version highlight the diversity within the LGBTQIA+ music community — country music in particular has a rich queer history that doesn't get discussed often enough — but it's just as vibrant and fun as the original. — Melody Lau 

'Don't Touch,' Tobi

"That's a crown on my head/ don't touch that." Tobi dropped this shoo-in for song of the summer just hours before he took home the Juno Award for rap recording of the year, further cementing his place in the Canadian rap canon. Produced by BadBadNotGood and fellow 2021 Juno winner Kaytranada (who took home a Grammy earlier this year, too), "Don't Touch" has the bounce of confidence and that intimate, sweaty vibe that each member of this trio is so good at creating solo. It's a dream collaboration with one foot stepping toward Tobi's (hopefully) inevitable mainstream future and the other grounded in the past, as he raps in the verse, "Still thinking 'bout Flint, Michigan/ children, they ain't ask for mineral water, but they got lead in it/ ain't no care for the dear wicked/ when your bedroom just a room with a bed in it." Tobi is taking names, and he won't forget. — Holly Gordon

'Take it Off,' Keys N Krates feat. Bibi Bourelly 

Canadian group Keys N Krates, recent signees to Toronto label Last Gang, has teamed up with German singer-songwriter Bibi Bourelly (perhaps best known for penning Rihanna's "Bitch Better Have my Money") for a song of the summer contender called "Take it Off." A bright, energetic house-inspired track, "Take it Off" finds Bourelly in a decidedly less breezy situation as she tries to break down the walls of a romantic partner. "I wanna f--k you and fight you," she admits over a shiny piano line. Over the chorus, Bourelly pleads for her lover to take off his armour, to be vulnerable for once. "Take it Off" is an anthem for anyone who wants to dance away the frustrations that sunny weather can't cure. — ML

'Just Don't,' Zanski

Here's a beautiful sashay of a song from producer/singer-songwriter Tom Probizanski, a.k.a. Zanski, who promises a new LP in the coming months. "Just Don't" begins in funky fashion with a leisurely strutting tempo as Zanski establishes a world-weary tone: "I've lived a hundred lives, I cannot express myself/ I've run a thousand miles, I'm still all by myself." The chorus — "How 'bout we just don't!" — benefits from lush production, which subsequently drops out for a reflective aside: "You know I'm losing my head, a few words by my heart/ Holy descriptions are lost, though we read in the dark." Then, we're treated to an instrumental solo (it's likely a guitar but comes thrillingly close to sounding like a kazoo) before Zanski layers all the elements and more for a hair-raising, glam-rock coda. — RR