Majid Jordan's disco-leaning new single, and 5 more 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 discover the songs our producers are loving right now.

'Life 2,' Majid Jordan

Bright synths and a disco-inflected beat kick off Majid Jordan's sparkling new track, "Life 2," the duo's first since dropping a series of remixes for their album Good People. "Welcome to your life," sings Majid al Maskati over and over again, his vocals crystalline. The upbeat melody and funky bassline are primed for the club, but lyrically it is undeniably downcast: "It may be that I'll never be the same again/ But will life now be as good as it was then," al Maskati sings with resignation. The pair have a talent for marrying devastating lyrics with gorgeous melodies, and they explained in a press release that the song's sonic and lyrical contrast was intentional: "It's a happy song sonically but the lyrics are about grief. It's about going through change and wondering if you're ever going to be the same again — a theme that is inevitable in life." Majid Jordan may be tapping into a simple philosophy — change and universal flux are constant — but they've communicated it so clearly that it feels seismic and extensive. — Natalie Harmsen

'Defense,' Panda Bear feat. Cindy Lee

American musician Noah Lennox tapped of-the-moment indie darling Cindy Lee to bring his newest single in five years to life — and Lee's electrifying guitar delivers. On "Defense," Lennox, better known as Panda Bear and a member of Animal Collective, lays himself bare, exposing his need for a little protection: "I'm in deep/ I could use you by my side." Lennox's vocals sound rather anthemic, even though he's singing about feeling small and needing a boost. It's a stirring juxtaposition that Lee plays off of with the instrumentation. A wicked guitar solo rings out midway through, bolstering the track and reaching for lofty new heights. "Defense" is the first single off Panda Bear's upcoming 2025 album, Sinister Grift. — Kelsey Adams

'Silencio,' Patrick Watson feat. November Ultra

Patrick Watson has been releasing cinematic pop music for over two decades, but for three months, he couldn't speak, or sing, a word. Inspired by losing his voice and the forced silence it created, he wrote "Silencio," along with French singer-songwriter November Ultra. "I noticed my interactions with people were so different when ... they filled the void left by my silence," Watson says in a press release. The song kicks off with a quiet piano and Ultra's calming vocals, before leading into a subdued, plucked classical guitar, with Watson singing in his characteristic, whispered falsetto, "I lost my voice because I talked too loud." Ultimately, it's a song about the power of allowing silence in, and how it can make you a better listener. "They think you're smarter when you shut your mouth," he sings. As the song gradually soars into an otherworldly atmosphere, where reverb swirls and seems to pull every note down like gravity, listeners are left with one final thought, sung by both Ultra and Watson in Spanish: "escúchame." Listen to me. — Jesse Kinos-Goodin

'Outside the Gate,' Katie Tupper

No one is perfect, especially in a relationship. Sometimes everything feels right and yet it isn't, Katie Tupper's latest song verbalizes that self-critical part of your brain that just repeats: "I think I'm broken." "Outside the Gate" is a tender-hearted piano track that gives space to Tupper's most vulnerable thoughts, where she admits that she's "too scared to live my life." But in order to fully be yourself in any relationship, you'll have to embrace your imperfections (as well as your partner's), and Tupper's performance reveals a sense of pain but more importantly grace to acknowledge and move past her fears. — Melody Lau

'Islands in the Stream' (Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers cover), Jane's Party feat. Shad, pHoenix Pagliacci and Tom Moffett

In the midst of COVID lockdowns, Toronto indie-rock band Jane's Party started a collaborative outdoor series of live performances titled Wild in the Woods, which culminated in a 2023 release of the same name. The band loved it so much that they've kept it going with this fall's Wild in the Woods Vol. 2. We're thankful for that for a few reasons, but none more than the gorgeous cover of "Islands in the Stream," with Shad and pHoenix Pagliacci on vocals and Arkells' Tom Moffett with a perfectly placed trumpet. It's a big cast list — seven in total with Jane's Party's four members — but the song is never crowded, the new composition rising in harmony on the chorus as each singer takes turns on the verses. By the time Shad, also playing an acoustic guitar, and Pagliacci sing the last line together, it's clear that Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers would have wholeheartedly approved. — Holly Gordon

'Bach in Town,' Hildegard

Sometimes ghosts from our pasts, be they ex-friends or ex-lovers, crop up again and we're tasked with deciding whether to entertain their presence, or send them packing. I'm of the camp that the past should stay in the past, and that seems to be the lesson of Hildegard's "Bach in Town." The opening track of their new album Jour 1596, is a contemplative avant garde R&B number, with jazz sensibilities and glittering harp. Hildegard, the Montreal duo made up of Ouri and Helena Deland, wrote the record over 1596 days during week-long retreats in rural Quebec, and the insular nature of that creation process permeates the whole record. The songs all feel very intimate, like an offering held close to the chest. On "Bach in Town," Ouri's background vocals and harp playing roam around like a spectre,​​​​​​ while Deland contemplates what to do when she spots someone from her past that has recently been haunting her thoughts: "Even though I've wondered these days/ Where we'd go and what we would say/ Something in me advises to leave you to your own devices." — KA

To hear more about these standout songs, tune in to CBC Music Mornings every Thursday (Canada-wide) with producer Nathan Gill and host Saroja Coelho, and Here and Now with Ramraajh Sharvendiran every Wednesday afternoon (in Toronto). Both are available via CBC Listen.