Aminata's powerful affirmation, and 6 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:

• Aminata. 
• Alvvays.
• Carly Rae Jepsen featuring Rufus Wainwright.
• SonReal and Johan Lenox.
• Kinley.
• Jon Hopkins, Kelly Lee Owens, Sultan + Shepard, and Jerro.
• July Talk.

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.

To hear more about these standout songs, tune in to CBC Music Mornings every Thursday, available via CBC Listen.

'Float,' Aminata

Daily affirmations are having a moment. More and more people are turning to the power of positive self-talk to manifest the reality we need to survive. Aminata's latest single, "Float," is a much-needed reminder of self-actualization. Her voice is gentle but in command, each word loaded with conviction. The track, produced by fellow Toronto artist Clairmont the Second, undulates steadily with rolling kick drums and mellow piano. She cleverly flows from bars about laying in the sun, covered in shea butter, to healing from past traumas — revealing an uncanny ability to weave the myriad parts of herself together. Spirituality, overcoming colourism, copping a brand new whip, stepping her money up, surviving pandemic life — all of it's fair game. It's been over a year since we last heard from the insightful spitter, on "36K," and it's a pleasure to hear her "traipse on a beat" again. — Kelsey Adams

'After the Earthquake,' Alvvays

In the days just before Alvvays released its highly anticipated third album, Blue Rev, the Toronto-based band dropped "After the Earthquake," a dizzying swirl of jangly guitars that swept us up in its stream-of-consciousness reverie. "But things fade/ like the scent of a brand new car/ why would I ever fall in love again/ when every detail is over the guardrail?" sings Molly Rankin two minutes in, as the song comes crashing to a halt for its most heartbreaking line before slamming back to full throttle. Inspired by a collection of Haruki Murakami stories called After the Quake, "After the Earthquake" dials into the details of life post-catastrophe, setting aside outside-world consequences to focus on the internal breakdown of a relationship. Rankin and bandmates Alec O'Hanley, Kerri MacLellan, Sheridan Riley and Abbey Blackwell have come out swinging with every track on Blue Rev, showing us that they're tighter than ever and ready to give us one of the best albums of the year. "Are you awake now?" sings Rankin, flinging the question into the air over a brief guitar solo. The answer, unwaveringly, is yes. — Holly Gordon

'The Loneliest Time,' Carly Rae Jepsen feat. Rufus Wainwright

Next Friday marks the release of Carly Rae Jepsen's sixth studio album, and the pop star recently unveiled The Loneliest Time's sparkling title track. "The Loneliest Time" enlists fellow Canadian Rufus Wainwright as the two sing about the anxiety and excitement of reigniting an old flame. "I could be yours just like before/ Rewrite another try/ 'Cause we've had the loneliest time," Jepsen and Wainwright harmonize together, over a five-part string section and a bumping disco beat. (Jepsen herself described this song as a "disco power ballad.") Just as Jepsen has done before with her synth-pop anthems, "The Loneliest Time" finds her pairing powerful feelings of love and longing with a sonic soundscape that is just as galvanizing and catchy. Time to add "Queen of Disco" to Jepsen's long list of queendoms. — Melody Lau

'Self Sabotage,' SonReal, Johan Lenox

"You told me things I didn't wanna hear, so I would shut you out." So begins this smooth, introspective new single from SonReal and Johan Lenox, exposing a pervasive human flaw. The tendency to self-sabotage is somewhat at odds with the warm acoustic guitar intro that draws you in to SonReal's personal disclosure. But production soon expands to underline his torment: "I need you more than you need me/ You think I don't; I'm good at acting/ Both you and I know deep down I bleed for you." The second verse belongs to Lenox, whose rich voice is layered with a whole Greek chorus, filling his head with questions — "What do I know? How do I go around it?" — before SonReal returns with his refrain. — Robert Rowat

'Fairytale Love,' Kinley

"It's crazy how quiet can be so loud," muses Kinley on the third and final single from her upcoming Nov. 4 album, Daylight. Over breezy synths and punctuating handclaps, the P.E.I. pop singer (and former Hey Rosetta! member) dreamily thinks of the relationship she wants while extracting herself from one that sputtered to an end. "'Fairytale Love' is about analyzing the relationship you're in and noting all the things that aren't working," says Kinley via press release. "It's not even close to the fairytale love you'd imagined having, so you walk away to hopefully find the romance of your dreams." After a hard look inward, "Fairytale Love" will help you bounce out of that breakup and into your future. — HG

'To Feel Again/Trois,' Jon Hopkins, Kelly Lee Owens, Sultan + Shepard, Jerro

A Brit, a couple of Canadians, a Belgian and a Welsh producer walk into a studio.... No, it's not a joke. It's magic. The magic power this quintet of producers possessed to create this moony mash-up, one that happened thanks to a quirky chain of events. According to Hopkins's Instagram, he was on the way to the airport in Milan when he heard "Trois" by Sultan + Shepard and Jerro. Entranced by the song, he chose it to close out his set that night in Leeds. The song continued to captivate him, which led him to pair it with the sugary vocal from "Luminous Spaces," a track he and Kelly Lee Owens produced in 2019 and abracadabra! The result is this stunning, euphoric banger that pairs well with dancing at sunset (or sunrise), moments of joy, and of course rabbits and hats. — Ben Aylsworth

'After This,' July Talk

Two years after their last album, Pray for It, Toronto's July Talk is officially back with a new album. According to a press release, the mission statement for Remember Never Before (out Jan. 20) is simple: "Hurl yourself into the moment." That's exactly what lead single "After This" does. "I can't wait to get back on my feet," Leah Fay sings, as an incinerating guitar riff comes rumbling in like a jolt of lightning. As the track builds, with its hushed verses giving way to more explosive bursts (a push-and-pull tension that the band has perfected over the years), the song grows in confidence and momentum until Fay and singer Peter Dreimanis's voices clash into its dramatic finale. July Talk has long been heralded as the new purveyors of Toronto indie-rock, and "After This" solidifies that lineage by enlisting Broken Social Scene frontman Kevin Drew as its producer, almost reimagining certain elements of his own band into July Talk's sonic universe. With two other songs released so far — the industrial "Certain Father" featuring Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug and the more tender "Hold" — July Talk is here to remind you that, even with year-end season upon us, 2023 is going to be full of exciting new music worth looking forward to. — Melody Lau