Songs you need to hear this week, CBC Searchlight edition

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

This week, we're listening to tracks from artists who made the Top 100 in CBC Music's Searchlight contest including:

• Cam Kahin.
• Exmiranda.
• TheHonestGuy.
• Pisceze.
• Waahli.
• Luna Elle.

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.

'Try Again,' Cam Kahin

Last summer we named Cam Kahin one of 5 Canadian artists shaping rock music right now, and "Try Again" is another perfect reason for him to make that list. It dropped in April 2023 with his latest EP, When It's All Over, which is Kahin's first release as a new signee to Dine Alone Records, home to Alexisonfire, City and Colour and Dilly Dally. When CBC Music had Kahin on The Intro earlier this year, he described the album as a "dark coming-of-age story," and "Try Again" is a cynical look at what time does to perception. "Fell in love with a crooked world/ and everything that comes with," Kahin sings in a slightly detached tone, before screaming into a chorus filled with feeling and protest. Kahin's punk and metal influences meld with surf-rock guitar accents and power chords for this burst of a song, making it one of this year's Searchlight standouts. — Holly Gordon

'Fresh Fro,' Exmiranda

There's a seamless blend of warm funk and hip-hop on Exmiranda's track "Fresh Fro," as she proudly raps about loving her natural hair. It's an empowerment anthem in the groovy vein of James Brown's "Say it Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud," but it's a song specifically for Black women who reject Eurocentric beauty standards in favour of unapologetically rocking their natural tresses. She told Complex Canada that the song is a celebration: "I wrote that song with the deliberate intention to make whoever listens to it, and also for myself, to be able to embrace Black features." The track was a standout from her 2021 debut album, Funk Break, which embraced disco-laced beats and infectious melodies. Her commanding delivery flows over every beat on "Fresh Fro" with ease, accentuating the rhythm with each witty bar. — Natalie Harmsen

'Lost to the Summer,' TheHonestGuy

"Lost to the Summer" was the lead single on TheHonestGuy's EP How to Make Love, which nabbed a Juno nomination in 2023 for traditional R&B/soul recording of the year. It was overdue recognition for the Toronto-based musician (real name Mubarak Adeyemi), whose romantic songs effortlessly assimilate classic R&B styles without being derivative. On this one, he chronicles a relationship that may have fizzled due to summer's irresistible allure: "When I lost you/ I lost you to the summer — or another," he posits in the chorus, his soft tenor floating over a mid-tempo mix of funky bass, dreamy electric piano and a slapping backbeat. There are some nice, crunchy vocal harmonies in the second verse and surprising chord changes that keep the song fresh (unlike his relationship, which has unfortunately spoiled in the summer heat.) — Robert Rowat

'Dodging Bullets,' Pisceze

Toronto artist Pisceze opens her song "Dodging Bullets" with an admission that she isn't ready to commit to a relationship just yet: "Lately I've been dodging bullets/ Scared of love so I made my heart bulletproof." That doesn't stop the rising R&B/soul singer from letting her guard down, though, as she explains that this track is about "falling in love with the right person at the wrong time." Underneath the track's sultry beat (co-produced by Pisceze, Jahkoy, Daavidlee and 4nghts), Pisceze expresses a sense of isolation within her new romantic situation, as she fills in the empty spaces of her track with sighs of, "I can't lie, gets lonely lonely lonely." The palpable melancholy of "Dodging Bullets" perfectly illustrates both the allure and anguish of getting pulled into a toxic relationship, like letting your heart slip into quicksand. — Melody Lau 

'Te revoir,' Waahli

Songs about budding romance always feel perfectly suited for the summer months. The air feels charged with possibility, where a chance encounter can bloom into something more. Montreal-based Haitian rapper and singer Waahli taps into that sentiment on "Te revoir." A veteran of the Montreal hip-hop scene, Waahli co-founded the supergroup Nomadic Massive in 2004. His solo career began in 2018, with the release of his debut album Black Soap. His Soap Opera EP came next in 2020 and Soap Box followed in 2022. "Te revoir" is one of the standouts from that 2022 album. Whether singing or rapping, in Creole, French or English, Waahli is resonant, warm and in full command. He possesses a charm that complements the magnetic pull between lovers whom he's exalting on the track. The Caribbean horns and drums motivate hips to move and arms to sway before the first verse even begins. From its first second to its last, "Te revoir" is an absolute celebration. It was one of CBC Music's Top 100 songs of 2022 for a reason. — Kelsey Adams

'Tempo,' Luna Elle

Luna Elle's commanding voice is a study in dualities: a tether and a release, flirty and frank, hushed shadows and moonlit glow. The kicker? Elle is just 18 years old. The confident, low-key beats complement the push-pull between Elle's narrator and the object of her affection as Elle sings about the "tempo" between them: "I don't want to go too slow/ You never want to get attached/ when you know that I'm just going to let go." With "Tempo," Luna Elle has crafted the ultimate summer slow jam and established herself as one of the most exciting emerging artists of the year. — Andrea Warner