4 songs you need to hear this week to celebrate Asian Heritage Month

For Asian Heritage Month, we're devoting this week's edition of Songs you need to hear to recent tracks from exciting Asian Canadian musicians. 

Better Than That, Alex Porat

Every pop star has a signature track about pining for someone who's unavailable because they're already in a relationship, oftentimes convinced that they can be a better girlfriend or boyfriend. Avril Lavigne boldly expresses her dislike on Girlfriend, Taylor Swift pleads for her crush to see her on You Belong With Me and Shawn Mendes knows that he can Treat You Better on his hit single. Toronto artist Alex Porat's latest contribution to this pop canon hews closest to Mendes's sentiment, promising: "Baby, I could love you better than that/ Just one shot/ I'm everything she's not." Over steady guitar riffs and a stomping drum beat, Porat pours her heart out through frank admissions, all culminating in the bridge where she straight up tells him, "Call me when you break up with your girlfriend." In sometimes messy situations like this, the best thing you can do is be direct, and that's just what Porat does. — Melody Lau

Honey, Jordan Astra

Jordan Astra is in his loverboy era. The Toronto-based R&B-pop singer wrote his latest single, Honey, for "all you sweethearts" and its saccharine groove is absolutely irresistible. "I don't even need you at your best girl/ go and get it off your chest girl/ I can handle all the rest girl," he sings declaratively in the first verse, assuring the object of his desire that he'll put all her worries to rest. Honey follows Astra's 2024 album, Far Deeper, which was his first release after signing to his new label, Mind of a Genius. Astra wrote Honey in September in L.A. with Pera and Jack Samson, and tinkered with it for months, testing it out at clubs to make sure "that shit bangs" — and it does, in fact, bang. — Kelsey Adams

Eagle, Noki Mori

The serene sound of bubbling water invites listeners into a lush natural soundscape on Eagle, one of the standout songs from sibling group Noki Mori's self-titled debut album. Singer-songwriter Justin Nozuka teamed up with his brothers, Philip, Chris and Henry, to release the full-length project together, blending airy vocals and direct lyricism with, at times, psychedelic instrumentation. Justin's bright falsetto takes centre stage before his brothers' voices float in and out over soft piano, swirling around lines about their family: "Georgie's down but not bleeding/ I'm in the background," Justin sings, playfully namedropping their other brother, George, before the brothers unpack their feelings around their father: "Otosan's away/ I wanted him to stay." (The brothers were raised in Toronto by their single mother, while their father resided in New York.) 

While the song has snippets of the experimental rock-leaning sound Justin waded into on 2024's Chlorine, Noki Mori bursts with vibrant layers of personal history thanks to the siblings' strong co-writing. "I'm really proud to be part of this group — it's one of the greatest honours of my life," Justin wrote on Instagram about the album. — Natalie Harmsen

Sleeves, Ghostform

You may recognize Marvin Chan as the artist behind Merv xx Gotti, a.k.a. the alt-R&B half of Saskatchewan hip-hop duo Samurai Champs, but this month he unveiled something completely different: Ghostform, his "side-project emo band." Created with members of indie-rock band Surf Dads and noise-rock trio Blue Youth, Ghostform was born "during the lockdowns [when] we were all back in Regina, [and] got talking about the old local hardcore scene — the same one Andy Shauf was from — and a lot of the 2000s 'emo' bands that were at their height in that era, like Paramore, Alexisonfire, etc.," Chan explained. 

Ghostform's debut single, Sleeves, is about the vulnerability it takes to try something again, and it owes much to the scene that raised it: leaning into tight, loud riffs and vocals that drip with nostalgia — but don't drown in it. It's also an emotional release for Chan. "It's also about trying again in the face of failing mental health ... for me personally especially, coming from an Asian background where it's not always acknowledged very openly, especially by the older generation, the pure act of creating music has been the ultimate form of trying again," he said. Look for Ghostform's second single this summer, and an EP in the fall. — Holly Gordon