Valley's carefree banger and 5 other 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:

• Cat Clyde.
• Valley.
• Softcult.
• Charmaine.
• Mayfly.
• Gabrielle Shonk.

Scroll down to find out why you need to listen. 

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 with producer Ryan Chung and host Saroja Coelho, available via CBC Listen.

'I Feel it,' Cat Clyde

Everytime I cry, you know it cleans me
Like rain coming down from the sky will release me
I feel the moon
I feel her moods
I feel everything that's going on around me

There's a romantic catharsis in letting go of logic and allowing pure intuition to guide you. To feel acutely aware of the interconnectedness between all things. To speak to the moon and believe that it speaks back. Cat Clyde taps into that feeling on her spellbinding new single, "I Feel it." Written and recorded in her cabin in rural Quebec in 2020, it's richly layered with textures: the melancholy piano melody, the sound of rain, a wall of distorted noise, her prophetic voice. The indie-folk artist wrote the song about her experience as an empath, told through the lens of her connection to nature. To constantly feel in communion with everything and everyone can be overwhelming, and the way the song swells and Clyde's voice breaks while singing the chorus is a testament to that, but it's something she takes in stride. The arresting track is featured on Clyde's upcoming album, Down Rounder, out Feb. 17. — Kelsey Adams

'Throwback Tears,' Valley

Unstoppable, Valley concluded 2022 by releasing its Live in Seoul EP, and has begun 2023 by announcing a new album, Lost in Translation, due out June 23. Its lead single is carefree and compact — under two minutes — and addresses that post-breakup moment when "you build a bridge, one snotty Kleenex at a time, and get over it to find a pot of gold at the end filled with self-love, growth and epiphany," explains drummer Karah James via press release. The opening verse says it all: "I'm on some new shit now, no illusions now/ I traded medication for meditation/ Amazing. I had a mood switch, wow," sings Rob Laska, before launching into the chorus, which has him flipping into falsetto on alternating phrases. Few bands do happy/sad songs as well as Valley, and "Throwback Tears" provides a much-needed lift. As Laska notes, "It has cheeky new year, new me energy." — Robert Rowat

'Dress,' Softcult

It's a question that many women have heard in the aftermath of an assault: "What were you wearing?" On Softcult's latest single, "Dress," twins Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn are quick to push back on the victim blaming, arguing that clothes (in any style or manner) are never "a f–king invitation." Instead, the Arn-Horns shift their focus to the personal fear and trauma that lingers long after these events, that alter our molecular makeup in ways that can manifest in different forms, like anxiety, depression or just generally feeling unsafe in our surroundings. "I'll never be the same again, I'll never feel the same again," they sing, over an otherwise upbeat number that feels like it's radically fighting against the tide of its lyrics, proving that trauma doesn't define a person and that joy can still shine through. — Melody Lau

'Jeez,' Charmaine

Charmaine knows she's on top and isn't afraid to broadcast it to the world. The Juno-award-winning rapper's latest self-assured release "Jeez" is a PSA to anyone who's even considered coming for her throne. She makes it known that she's hungry for success and paints a luxurious picture of her all-designer drip, namedropping Givenchy, Louis Vuitton and more. But while making a point of flexing, she also commands respect through her energetic delivery on the track. "Talk to me nice or go home, it's a wrap," she states, point-blank. It's vibrant and lively, leaning into being cocky in the best way. It harkens back to the days of old-school braggadocious rap, as she decides she doesn't care if others like her or not — she's happy to give herself some flowers. It's a bouncy anthem for the days when you need to gas yourself up, where Charmaine lets everyone know that there's power in being self-aggrandizing. — Natalie Harmsen

'Take me Away,' Mayfly

January is an auspicious time to release a song with the opening lyrics, "Take me away/ take me some place far from here." This time of year is supposedly one of reset, of near hibernation, but by now the darkness has settled in, and the hours before dawn feel brutally infinite. So when Charlie Kunce and Emma Cochrane, who make up Montreal duo Mayfly, dropped their new EP last week with this track — and mantra — it felt genius. "Take me Away" is beautifully layered electro-pop, as Kunce and Cochrane give us an antidote to that dreaded mid-winter feeling of never-ending stuckness. "Take me away," they plead, while providing a solution: a slowly, smartly built, low-key dance track that will make your body feel lighter and your brain feel happier. We can't guarantee that the rest of the Hideaway EP will make you feel as light, but it's definitely worth the dive. — Holly Gordon

'People Pleaser,' Gabrielle Shonk

We're more than two weeks into the new year already, but Gabrielle Shonk's new single "People Pleaser" poses a great resolution as she defiantly proclaims on the track, "People pleasing, I'm done!" It's in that moment that the song transforms from a quiet, acoustic number into a fully-formed indie-rock jam, inviting electric guitar, bass and drums to the party — as if Shonk has finally broken free. "I'll keep being kind," Shonk later promises, but "not at the cost of self-love" because if we need to please anyone in life, we need to put ourselves first. — ML