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.

Over the past decade, Jonita Gandhi has become a Bollywood superstar, penning and performing hit songs and appearing in films like Chennai Express. But she's now ready to embark on a new musical adventure, blending the sounds of her motherland with western influences. She was born in New Delhi, India and raised in Brampton, Ont., with a foot in both worlds, and her latest single "Love Like That" featuring Pakistani-American songwriter and composer Ali Sethi is a stirring merger of American pop with Indian folk. Specifically, 13th century Qawwali rhythms that compliment rather than contrast against the modern hyperpop production. Both Gandhi and Sethi's vocals soar, as they sing this duet all about embracing an ideal love, full of devotion. "I've always wanted to work with Ali Sethi, and when we got into the studio together in L.A., this song poured out of us organically," Jonita shared in a press release. "This is more than just a song; it's a journey through cultures, history, and emotion." Gandhi's debut EP, Love Like That will be released Feb. 2. — Kelsey Adams

The title of this song refers to Emerald City Guitars, a shop in Seattle, Wash., where Wyatt C. Louis and their partner spent a memorable day while visiting the West Coast in December 2021: "The smell of the ocean in our hair ... Pockets full of saltwater taffy. Taking in landscape through the lens of a film camera," Louis recalls fondly via press release. "In Emerald" is a musical postcard from that trip, a country-tinged folk song co-written with Nixon Boyd (Hollerado) and beautifully enhanced with pedal steel guitar playing by Matt Kelly (City and Colour). "I know that we'll be there again," Louis sings in the refrain — the hopeful sentiment of anyone wishing to recapture that magical confluence of time and place that travel sometimes offers. Understated yet gripping, "In Emerald" is the second single from Louis's upcoming debut album, Chandler, set to be released on May 24. Together with the earlier one, "Bobtail Road," they make a compelling case. — Robert Rowat

"Can't believe my fearful avoidant attachment turned into this," Scarborough, Ont., singer Loony wrote on Instagram about "Too Attached." It's a more pop-forward track that sidesteps her usual R&B/soul sound, and it's also one of her most vulnerable sonic displays about letting someone get close. As Loony sings about wondering if she's good enough for a love interest, she wrestles with the temptation to push them away before realizing there's strength in letting someone see her flaws. It's a sensitive exploration of maturity woven together by her tender delivery and silky vocal performance. "The closer you get, the realer it is," she sings, casting aside any timidness and relationship doubts. The accompanying music video for "Too Attached" is also undeniably charming, putting a very literal spin on the theme of the song. — Natalie Harmsen

During the earliest days of the pandemic, everyone had to learn to live with a sense of isolation. But when the world started opening up again, it was hard for some to break out of that newfound comfort zone and take risks again. That's the central idea of Vancouver singer-songwriter Jordan Klassen's latest single, "Overstep," a buoyant, string-plucking track that attempts to break free of these fears. Klassen describes the track as his "post-COVID anthem," declaring with a gentle falsetto on the chorus, "I'm afraid to think that I might/ waste away inside of these walls/ 'til I overstep my bounds." The Matt Kingcroft-directed music video brings Klassen's anxieties to life as a silver-suited figure that follows the artist around, dancing around and being a pest in general until Klassen gives in and makes friends with it — a lesson we can all take away, no matter what shape our demons take. — Melody Lau

It's been nearly a decade since Alana Yorke released her well loved 2015 debut album, Dream Magic, but something bigger than regular life got in the way: the Halifax pop musician had a near-death experience scuba diving a few years ago. The incident resulted in debilitating PTSD, and in November 2022 she suffered a stroke that affected her ability to walk and use her left arm. But the stroke also bookended a time for Yorke: it emotionally and creatively freed her. "I was just on fire, completely free of any depression, any PTSD, any weight," she explained in the CBC documentary "Alana's Anthem."

This new mental state allowed Yorke to plan her long-awaited sophomore album, which she finished after her recovery. Destroyer, out May 17 via Paper Bag Records, was recorded with a 21-piece orchestra and co-produced with husband Ian Bent, and is Yorke's way of sharing what she went through — beginning with the gorgeous lead track. "Marion," named after her grandmother, lyrically links Yorke's young son's eyes to her grandmother's, the piano and strings building tension as Yorke places her grief and love into a story that weaves through three generations. To destroy something is to force an ending, but implicit in destruction is a new beginning. With Destroyer, Yorke lets us into the moments that tie the two together. — Holly Gordon