Sadboi's ode to obsessive love, and 3 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.

'Therapist,' Sadboi

Love can drive people to make some pretty concerning decisions; sometimes being swept up in the whirlwind causes your sanity to fly out the window. On Sadboi's latest single "Therapist," the Toronto artist sings about a romance so toxic she pays her partner's therapist to keep them together. Unafraid to dive into the ugly, insecure parts of herself, Sadboi is reaching SZA levels of vulnerable storytelling. The single premiered on Colors, with a pared-back video that belies the severity of some of the song's more out-there lyrics: "I paid off your therapist/ To tell you I'm the only bitch in the world/ 2 k a visit to keep you in love" and "Put me up in the psych ward/ I don't care as long as I stay yours." "Therapist" mixes the chill R&B of Sadboi's earlier projects (back when she was known as Ebhoni) with the gritty, devil-may-care energy of her new era, showcasing her evolution as an artist.  As she shared on Instagram, the relationship that inspired the song is long over, which is probably for the best, but at least it helped create her most compelling music to date. — Kelsey Adams

'Did You Love Somebody,' Peach Pit feat. Sir Chloe

The extended edition of Peach Pit's album Magpie drops on May. 9, and the Vancouver band has released the first re-imagined single from the project, "Did You Love Somebody." The hopeful love song has become a duet with vocals and a new verse from Sir Chloe singer, Dana Foote. With the addition of Foote, the band shares the track has "changed into its true form, an intimate conversation between a couple experiencing the doubts and insecurities that show up when you're falling in love." Over folksy fingerstyle, Peach Pit lead singer Neil Smith asks, "Did you love somebody only just for the rush like me?" to which Foote responds on her verse, "Did you pray to save yourself from grief?" Their voices rise and eventually join together, softly fluttering like butterflies. By the final verse, they've successfully balanced lovey-dovey sweetness with the jitters of a romance that's beginning to grow. — Natalie Harmsen

'Can We Be Still,' Georgia Harmer

In 2022, we fell in love with singer-songwriter Georgia Harmer's debut album, praising the Toronto artist for "transforming life's minutiae into gorgeous, moving melodies." Two years later, Harmer is back with her first new song since that release. "Can We Be Still" continues to show off Harmer's astute songwriting, especially by expanding on her heartfelt odes to friendship. ("Talamanca" off of Stay in Touch is another great example of this.) The new track builds off a steadily strummed riff and drum beat as Harmer illustrates an evolving timeline between two friends. "It's about having a shared vision of the future and a desire to preserve it, to see the plan for ever-lasting closeness through," she described in a statement. It's a sentiment that shines through Harmer's gentle and caring delivery, and even in the accompanying music video where she dances and spins around the empty rooms and hallways of the high school she attended alongside the video's director, Talvi Faustmann. "Can We Be Still" is a beautiful dreamscape, and perhaps the ideal soundtrack to your upcoming Galentine's Day festivities. — Melody Lau

'Another Farewell,' Horsebath 

"Another Farewell" is the title track from Horsebath's debut full length album, released on February 7. From the first few moments of the song, you can hear what this band is all about: desert highways, "howdy partners" and whiskeys neat. It's country rock that very clearly tips its ten gallon hat to the likes of Lee Hazelwood, Gram Parsons and Doug Sahm. So, if you were to guess where Horsebath is based, you could be forgiven for thinking the American Southwest. Instead, the band has made camp at the opposite end of the continent, in Halifax. Of course, that's not entirely a contradiction: Nova Scotia has a rich history of producing country icons, from Hank Snow to Anne Murray and a near limitless number of singer-songwriters. Horsebath carry on that tradition admirably, by not trying to do too much. The recipe is honest storytelling, organic production and blankets of harmonies. What you end up with in "Another Farewell" is a loving, light as air tribute to wanderlust and the open road. — Nathan Gill