Fleece's bedroom banger, and 4 other songs you need to hear this week

Songs you need to hear is CBC Music's weekly list of hot new Canadian tracks.

Scroll down to find out what our producers are listening to this week.

'Stay at Home Boy,' Fleece

Montreal indie band Fleece is back with a jamming-in-front-of-the-bedroom-mirror track that will have you relishing in your alone time. "Stay at Home Boy" is a song they wrote two years ago for "the introverts who'd rather party all night at home by themselves." Bassy synth, lush guitar and percussion give a lively energy to this song about retreating into yourself. Lead singer Matt Rogers is clearly having a ball, so much so you'll find yourself headbanging to lyrics like "I need way too much me-time/ Oh boy, you're such a loser." It's been two years since their last album, Stunning & Atrocious, and this year they've started rolling out singles again. If this new track, as well as earlier singles "It's the Life" and "Do You Wanna Party" are a glimpse into what we can expect from their upcoming album, we are in for a treat. — Kelsey Adams

'I'm Blooming,' DijahSB

Next Friday, Toronto rapper DijahSB will return with their third full-length album, The Flower That Knew — it's been a prolific year, following their August EP, Tasty Raps Vol. 2. Along with the album announcement came two tracks, the glossy dance number "Don't Touch" and the more mellowed-out "I'm Blooming." The latter recalls the more laid-back second half of 2021's Polaris Music Prize-nominated Head Above the Waters, riding out a jazz-inspired beat (by frequent collaborator Cheap Limousine) as DijahSB shows off their lyrical prowess, crafting turns of phrase and punch lines with ease and confidence. The track serves as a mission statement with DijahSB asserting that they're not going to follow anyone else's path to success, instead blazing their own trail. "Imma grow how I wanna grow/ Plant where I see fit," they rap, expanding on the title's metaphor. In an industry and genre that has yet to create a space for non-binary acts, artists like DijahSB aren't going to wait around, as they warn listeners: "They stagnant/ I'm cruisin'." — Melody Lau 

'The Message,' Majid Jordan

Majid Jordan's new album, Good People, has been getting lots of attention for its serene, Sade-inspired R&B sound, but "The Message" falls outside that classification. It begins as a cozy, acoustic ballad, with Mansur Brown's gorgeous guitar accompanying Majid Al-Maskati. "One day you'll lay me to rest/ Love on my last breath," he sings low in his register before taking flight: "Lift me up/ A night of love/ Show me my light." Imperceptibly, production expands until the song is awash in a shimmering halo of sound — a beautiful, meandering meditation on the gift of love. — Robert Rowat

'Minimum Wage,' Pressa

Toronto's Pressa reflects on hustle culture on his latest single, "Minimum Wage": "I can't go back to no minimum wage/ I rather hustle for mine every day," he raps, painting a picture of his early years of nonstop grinding. Filled with moody instrumentation and eerie ad-libs, the song is a toast to his lightning rise. Several of his lyrics are a dark nod to growing up around violence ("You catch a body it make you a bigger man"), however, the track's music video shows a decidedly more lighthearted side to the rapper, humorously portraying him as a mail carrier and a Footlocker-inspired employee. It's an assured acknowledgement of the Juno-nominated rapper's tough beginnings, but also a reminder of how far he's come: he recently supported 50 Cent on the Canadian leg of his tour and also hinted that a song with Afrobeats star Davido was on the way. — Natalie Harmsen

'Skin,' Like a Motorcycle

Like a Motorcycle is prepping for a third full-length album in early 2024, and the Halifax punk quartet has set a blistering pace with lead single "Skin," a whirlwind two minutes produced by Howard Redekop (Tegan and Sara, Mother Mother) about that relationship you really shouldn't be in. With a distorted guitar riff that gives off some real "My Sharona" vibes, "Skin" is all in from the first second — for better or worse. "We spend a lot less time in bed than we used to/ and I know when no one can win/ but what are you willing to lose?" snarls KT Lamond on the opening verse, as bandmates Kim Carson, David Casey and Clare Macdonald bend their instruments around the fury. "Skin" is a real ripper, with a NSFW video about the "muther fackin' male gaze" that'll have your own mortal shell crawling. — Holly Gordon

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.