It’s time for Your First Listen, where we show you songs you need to discover this week!

This Indie88 feature is presented with Bay Bloor Radio.

Each week we feature five remarkable songs that you need to hear on Your First Listen on air. In case you miss them on air, you can catch up on the weekly tracks right here. Your First Listen airs every day in Indie88 beginning at 10 a.m.

Online, we expand the list with a couple more tunes. This week, we’ve got new tracks from Dizzy, The National, The Dirty Nil, and more.

Check out eight songs you need to discover this week below.

Dizzy – “Open Up Wide”

Dizzy recently announced their upcoming self-titled album, set to arrive on August 18, 2023 via Royal Mountain Records. The lead single, “Open Up Wide,” hit the airwaves on Indie88 this week via Your First Listen. The airy track was produced by Grammy-nominated David Pramik (Selena Gomez, Bebe Rexha, Oliver Tree).

“When we started recording the album our producer David was super conscious of cutting the fat from each song,” says Katie Munshaw of the track. “One afternoon he encouraged us to write our parts in a simpler, more ‘spoonfed’ fashion for easy listening, when Mack piped up cheekily ‘Open up wide! Here comes the airplane!’. The next morning we were all feeling a bit resentful of that mindset and “Open Up Wide” came to be while we were having our morning coffees. It’s a tongue and cheek ode to a music industry we’ve never understood all that well.”

d4vd – “Worthless”

Houston, Texas-based artist ​​d4vd, born David Burke, has carved out a following as a DIY teenaged singer-songwriter. The latest from d4vd, “Worthless,” is currently spinning on Indie88.

The Dirty Nil – “Nicer Guy”

Hamilton, Ontario-based rockers The Dirty Nil are set to return with their fourth album Free Rein to Passions on May 26th via Dine Alone Records. The trio shared “Nicer Guy,” a John Goodmanson-produced track, as the first single.

Jorja Smith – “Try Me”

UK R&B singer Jorja Smith has shared new music this week with “Try Me,” a song the artists says is about “putting yourself out there, in front of a world that has many opinions, as it only ever used to be me really being my own critic.” The track arrives with a video directed by Amber Grace Johnson.

The Revivalists – “Down In The Dirt”

The Revivalists have released a brand new track titled “Down In The Dirt” from their forthcoming studio album, Pour It Out Into The Night (out June 2 via Concord Records).

“‘Down in the Dirt’ is like a mini family epic that reckons with the big questions of life. I was inspired to write this song after happening upon a performance by ‘Southern Gothic’ New Orleans folk trio called The Wanting. I was struck by their song called Dark Road. (Chris Jacob is credited as a co-writer on the song for the inspiration). So, I listened back to that song while walking my dog the next day and the first lines of ‘Down in the Dirt’ popped in my head, and I completed the song over the next few months before the world went on pause for the pandemic,” says guitarist, Zack Feinberg.

Taylor Knox – “Being Human”

Canadian indie singer-songwriter Taylor Knox is set to release his third studio album, The Dreamer, on May 12th. Knox has shared a video for his new track, “Being Human.”

“The Dreamer is about leaving behind the grind of the music industry, departing the big city for a small town, and getting back to the same wonder and creativity that I felt as a kid when I first began playing around with music,” explains Knox. “The time and solitude that I experienced and its ultimate reevaluation of what I want music to be in my life has given me a renewed passion for creating music for no other purpose than joy and self-expression.”

The National – “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend”

This week The National offered another new track from their forthcoming  First Two Pages Of Frankenstein LP, with the latest release featuring indie icon Phoebe Bridgers. “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend” arrives with a video directed by Bridgers’ brother Jackson and also starring Matt Berninger’s brother Tom.

Kasador – “Lock On”

Kasador’s have begun showcasing new material from their upcoming sophomore LP Youth. The band enlisted co-writer Brett Emmons of The Glorious Sons for their latest release, the rollicking “Lock On.”