Nonso Amadi joins Kito's party, and 5 more songs you need to hear this week

CBC

28-05-2025

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.
Deya, Kito feat. Nonso Amadi
Australian producer Kito knows how to get a crowd moving, and for her latest release, Deya, she enlisted the help of fellow party-starter Nonso Amadi. We last checked in with the Nigerian Canadian singer when he released Babyboo, a collab with fellow Torontonian Sylo. Deya lives in an entirely different world than that serene, melodic single — it's all laser synths and muffled bass, designed for a big room full of revelers. Amadi has much to celebrate as he sings about how far he's come, from the chemical engineering major doing music on the side ("This all started in my room") to touring internationally and having the crowd sing his lyrics back to him ("All the fans wanna jam to midnight, we shut the whole thing down/ pretty girls wanna sing, right/ We wanna hear that room sing loud"). It's not the first time the Afropop and R&B artist has dabbled in electronic music, and he flexes his vocals over the four-to-the-floor beat. Kito's production builds and builds until reaching a triumphant release, a moment of arrival with Amadi as self-assured as ever: "I'm a superstar in the making/ no rush though, I'm patient." — Kelsey Adams
Wild World, Fine Food Market
Fine Food Market, the project of Montreal's Sophie Perras, blends dream pop with folk and country on Wild World, a gorgeous song from her debut EP, I'm afraid to be in love with someone who crashes their car that much. Originally released in 2024 and re-released on the new project, the song leans into influences from Big Thief and Kurt Vile, pairing lush, blurred instrumentation with soft, sad harmonies. Perras begins by detailing how a fight with a lover spurred a tangle of memories, and slowly builds up to an emotionally charged chorus: "The whole wide world is falling apart, 'cause you broke my heart," Perras sings, her airy vocals fluttering across bursts of sunny steel guitar. Bright saxophone on the bridge floats in as she sings, "I want you by my side, you just seem to waste my time," letting listeners know that love is fragmented, messy and, in this case, crushing. — Natalie Harmsen
Laini Tani, Nadah El Shazly with Sarah Pagé
The title track from Nadah El Shazly's upcoming album, Laini Tani is both an invitation and a line drawn: the freeform mawwāl — a traditional Arab vocal genre of sung poetry — grounds you before the tension of the future looms with the incoming beat, a push-pull between the Egyptian-born, Montreal-based producer/vocalist/composer and harpist Sarah Pagé (whose name you may recognize as a founding member of the Barr Brothers). Laini Tani is a celebration of the two artists' close relationship, as they've been playing together since El Shazly recorded her debut album in 2016 at Montreal studio Hotel2Tango. In a press release the artist describes how Pagé was able to tune "her harp to Arabic scales — in this case, the Saba scale — and we can totally be in the same body and mind when we play together." It's a gorgeous meeting of talents, and a sign to keep an eye out for Laini Tani when the full album comes out on June 6 via Backward Music and One Little Independent Records. — Holly Gordon
Oh No!, Afternoon Bike Ride
When you're going through a crisis in public, the last thing you want is to run into a familiar face. Montreal band Afternoon Bike Ride's latest single, Oh No!, perfectly captures the panic that quickly sets in during those moments, albeit over gentle, contrasting strumming that soothes the nerves as singer Lia Kurihara narrates her anxious feelings. "My oh my/ how I try hard to hide/ my face from their eyes," she sings. "Oh no!/ We had to face/ one another getting off/ same direction." This track was inspired by Kurihara's own experiences riding the subway to and from visiting her dad, who lives in memory care. "I've cried and had panic attacks many times over during the ride," she explained, "and I've had to hide my face from acquaintances and strangers alike. As a prisoner of my own politeness, my worst nightmare is getting spotted during these moments." For those who understand that feeling all too well, the buoyant instrumentation of Oh No! can act as a balm to ease those intense emotions. All you have to do is take a deep breath and let the beautiful sounds of the piano and clarinet in the song's finale wash over you, its melodies comforting you one note at a time. — Melody Lau
Natalie, Uncle Strut
Vancouver indie rockers Uncle Strut showcase their upbeat surf rock on the puppy-love song Natalie from their debut album, Home at Last. Lead singer Tyson McNamara describes the song's protagonist as a girl who "gets a kick out of charming the pants off anyone she meets," before making a bold declaration on the chorus: "Got me running in circles baby, I could be your man." As he tries to woo her over honeyed, cheerful instrumentals, which have a Lime Cordiale meets Ocean Alley feel, it becomes clear that the song is practically begging to be a summertime sing-along. The bassline is simple but sticky, and the chorus is sweet but not saccharine — the elements needed to set the mood for a budding romance. By the track's end, you can't help but hope that he eventually gets the girl as he sings, "It's the things that you're doing, the things that you're doing to me, Natalie." — NH
Great White Sharks, Baby Nova
Baby Nova's latest single, Great White Sharks is full of pain — the kind that sticks to your bones, and all she wants is to escape it somehow: "I'm dreaming of being real f--king far from here." Baby Nova is the moniker that Halifax singer-songwriter Kayleigh O'Connor unveiled at the start of 2025, though beforehand she released music and wrote for other artists under her own name. Great White Sharks, and the three previously released tracks from O'Connor's new era, were co-written with Lowell and Gus Van Go, and on the latest cut O'Connor's voice is broody and husky as she laments over swelling piano and guitar how she wants to escape the grasp of dangerous, lecherous men ("I'm scared to death he's just having fun/ got a real tight grip on his pearls and my neck") and the entrapment of a monotonous life ("Nothing's changed here/ the rich men get richer"). Fans of Lana Del Rey will find much to like in O'Connor's diaristic tunes, but the influence of Nashville, where she's spent many years writing, also gives O'Connor an alt-country vibe that sounds particularly de rigeur. — KA