Katie Tupper’s emotional unraveling, and 4 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.

For even more new music, check out our SYNTH playlist on YouTube. 

Disappear, Katie Tupper

WATCH | The live performance of Katie Tupper’s Disappear:

Saskatoon soul singer Katie Tupper released her debut album, Greyhound, last Friday, and final single Disappear has us enamoured. “You like running blind/ pulling me behind you/ I compromise every time that I’m asked to,” Tupper sings, her gorgeous voice on full display over a simple piano, backed by singers Jordan Rakei and Rachel Bobbitt on the album version. It’s the live version you should hit play on first, though: with only Tupper singing alongside the piano, the song is purposeful as she reaches out, alone, to lay bare the truth of a relationship that’s erasing her. Tupper’s voice has always been hypnotizing, but it’s the coupling with her always perceptive lyrics that makes her soar so high — and with Disappear, the personal heartbreak of a love that can’t honour you is turned universal, one stunning line at a time.  — Holly Gordon

First Time On Earth, Edwin Raphael 

WATCH | The official video for Edwin Raphael’s First Time on Earth:

Buzzing drones meet uplifting guitar melodies as Edwin Raphael’s imaginative narrative unravels on First Time on Earth. The fourth single from the Montreal singer-songwriter’s upcoming album, I Know a Garden (out March 20), ponders open-ended questions about being, life and purpose. The ebbs and flows from bursts of energy to pulled-back introspective moments represent the “breathless first step onto the island of being — the moment of arrival in a life you didn’t choose, but must now inhabit fully,” Raphael shared in a press release. “As a second-born son, a quiet observer, and someone who often lingered in the background of his own life, this song traces that early sense of awe and displacement.” In the song’s back half, all the sonic elements melt away, save a synth line that sounds like it’s underwater, as Raphael sings, “Everything’s uncertain/ But it’s beautifully designed.” Life brings with it more questions than answers, but it’s seeking beauty in the mundane, in the wonder of small miracles, that we find meaning.  — Kelsey Adams

Piece of Art, Geoffroy

WATCH | The audio for Geoffroy’s Piece of Art:

Montreal singer-songwriter-producer Geoffroy takes a pared back and gentle approach on his latest track Piece of Art, from his new EP Field Study. Known for his layered, inventive rhythms, Piece of Art gets down to the bare bones, using acoustic guitar, sparse piano and soft singing to lull listeners into a hypnotic trance. The folkier sound is reminiscent of Bon Iver circa 2007, with Geoffroy’s vocal delivery on par with Justin Vernon’s shivering yet mellow timbre. “This one is a reflection of an old love, like finding a photograph of a former lover,” Geoffroy said in a press release. “Both familiar and distant, a piece of art from another life.” Having decided the song was too folk for his next album, he decided to release it rather than scrap it entirely. And with lyrics such as, “I let the past be the past, broken down off the tracks, you glued me back together like a souvenir from a past life,” the song feels like an artefact that’s been dusted off and is finally ready to be displayed. — Natalie Harmsen

Yeah Right!, Cam Kahin

WATCH | The official video for Cam Kahin’s Yeah Right!:

Early 2000s pop-punk often honed in on the intense teenage experience, lamenting what it’s like to be just a kid or comparing high school to jail. But all punks grow old and become adults. That’s the crossroads Cam Kahin finds himself on his latest single Yeah Right! off his newly-released debut album, Chug. Drawing from the big, crunchy pop-punk chords of his youth, Kahin builds a nostalgic backdrop to soundtrack his future frustrations. “I’m no man, but I’ll do what I’m allowed,” he sings, “I don’t really give a f–k what I’ll amount to.” The track captures that liminal space where one wants to hold on to their youth just a bit longer (“I’ll make you proud/ if I can stay a kid for one more year”) while also knowing that adulthood is knocking at their door. It’s a feeling that’s perhaps just as poignant as being a teenager, but not nearly as explored in this genre.  — Melody Lau

Buzzcut, Taylor Jackson

WATCH | The audio for Taylor Jackson’s Buzzcut:

Taylor Jackson is based in Winnipeg now, but she’s originally from Toronto. A while back, she had an overnight layover in her home city, so she decided to meet up with some friends downtown. Naturally, she ran into her ex. That moment became the inflection point for her latest single, Buzzcut. The buzzcut in the song represents the jump scare she felt when she saw her ex’s shaved head. It’s funny how we can be forced to reflect on the past in moments like that, even if your life may now exist thousands of kilometres away. It can feel like you’re being ripped into the Twilight Zone, and there’s a trance to the guitars that reflects that perfectly. The whole production swims in a haze, reflective of Jackson’s transitional experience. Led by producer Kris Ulrich, Buzzcut was tracked at BNB Studios in Winnipeg, on the summer solstice last year. With Buzzcut, Jackson shows that even if you haven’t quite arrived at where you’re going, at least you’re not where you were. — Nathan Gill