Magi Merlin’s self-love letter, 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.

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

So Smart, Magi Merlin

Magi Merlin’s latest release, So Smart, is a sweet love letter to oneself; a reminder to be kind and gentle. “I’ll push to be nicer to me, I guess,” she sings over floating, alien-like keys. Her voice is airy and light, twirling along over the muted, repetitive instrumentals. The beats trickle down like dewdrops, with Merlin musing: “Call me pretty, I’ll forget who I am.” “This song gave me the opportunity to come into myself as an artist,” she shared on Instagram. “It’s a constant working practice to give urself [sic] compassion and build up one’s confidence,” she continued, before stressing the importance of acknowledging how far she has come. She sounds ethereal yet empowered, showcasing a quiet strength throughout the track.  — Natalie Harmsen

2-Seater Rocket, Laura Roy

Nova Scotian singer-songwriter Laura Roy spent a decade living in London, working as a backing vocalist for Dua Lipa, Camila Cabello and Sabrina Carpenter, while her songwriting on Doja Cat’s 2021 album, Planet Her, earned her a Grammy nomination. But when it came time to write and record her debut album, Roy was pulled back home. Late Bloomer Season, which came out May 8, is the result of that tether, written and produced by Roy while working with recording engineer Joel Waddell and a community of local musicians. It’s a warm, tender return to the folk roots and stories that ground her, and 2-Seater Rocket, a fantasy about climbing into a rocket ship with a loved one and leaving the world’s chaos behind, is the perfect place to land. On it, Roy’s warmth and range are both effortless and riveting, asking, “Maybe we could just get out of here/ maybe we’re not meant to fit the mold.” 

Roy released her official video for the track just before dropping her album, but above you can settle in to her On Air studio session with CBC’s East Coast Music Hour, as she performs alongside guitarist Sam Wilson and violinist Ali Enriquez, who also recorded with Roy on the album. — Holly Gordon

Fill In the Blanks, Joel Plaskett Emergency

Ahead of writing this song, Haligonian folk hero Joel Plaskett was studying another famous Canadian: Marshall McLuhan, who is, of course, the man who coined the phrase, “The medium is message.” His work was all about how we consume and share media. For a guy who died 46 years ago, McLuhan had a pretty good understanding of how we’d be affected by things like streaming content. We don’t need all the content all the time, right? Companies literally pay for our attention, so we should have intention about how we spend our time.

Plaskett wrote Fill In the Blanks to remind us of exactly that: embrace the spaces in our lives. Don’t spell everything out, just live in the moment. That’s what makes Plaskett one of this country’s most cherished songwriters. In one track, we can talk about Canadian heritage, brain rot and the attention crisis, or just spending time together — all in a pop song with more hooks than a tackle box. — Nathan Gill

Camera Shy, Sundayclub  

Being a musician means being thrust into the spotlight for better or worse. “It can get really overwhelming and all-consuming when so much of your energy is put into your physical looks,” Sundayclub singer Courtney Carmichael admits. She explores this dichotomy on her band’s latest single, Camera Shy. “You say, won’t you look my way?” she sings on the dream-pop chorus. But she quickly contrasts that with, “I must be camera shy/ close my eyes.” At a time in which we’re all obsessed with capturing moments with our phones and cameras, there’s both a sense of regret but even more so freedom when Carmichael repeats the refrain, “Didn’t capture, didn’t capture the night.” With its swirl of warm synths and guitars, Camera Shy gently reminds us to just put down our devices and bask in the glow of the moment instead. — Melody Lau