New Music Monday - 5 songs you need to hear this week

New releases from Dan Mangan, Ezra Furman, Pearl Jam, Sublime, and The Black Keys!

Whether you’re on a backroad drive, catching a quiet moment at home, or looking for something to shake up your playlist, here are five standout tracks you should hear this week—from new releases to reimagined classics.

Dan Mangan – Diminishing Returns
Vancouver singer-songwriter Dan Mangan delivers a thoughtful meditation on time, aging, and the unrelenting pace of life in Diminishing Returns. It’s stripped-down and intimate, centered around soft acoustic guitar, piano, and the quiet ache of his voice. Mangan has always had a knack for tapping into the emotional core of everyday moments, and here, he sounds like someone quietly reconciling with the things that fade—youth, memory, and the stories we tell ourselves. It’s not bleak; it’s honest, and surprisingly comforting.

Ezra Furman – Power of the Moon
Ezra Furman’s new track is a swirling, slow-burn ballad that feels like it’s glowing in the dark. With a lush string arrangement and haunted vocals, Power of the Moon leans into the dreamy and the surreal. Furman’s delivery is both vulnerable and commanding, like a late-night confession whispered into the void. The song captures the feeling of being drawn to something mysterious and unknowable—like love, like change, like the moon itself.

Pearl Jam – Present Tense (Redux)
Pearl Jam revisits a fan favorite from their No Code era with Present Tense (Redux), a fresh take that smooths out the original’s ragged edges while deepening its emotional weight. The updated version is more restrained, but not without power. Eddie Vedder’s voice carries more gravity now, and the production gives the song a sense of wide-open space. The message is the same—live in the moment, let go of the past—but this version sounds like it’s learned that lesson the hard way.

Sublime – Slow Ride
Nearly three decades after Bradley Nowell’s passing, the latest version of Sublime—now featuring his son Jakob—offers a chilled-out groove with Slow Ride. It’s not a cover, it’s an evolution. The song blends reggae rhythms with a laid-back vocal delivery that echoes the band’s early sound without feeling stuck in it. Jakob Nowell doesn’t try to imitate his father; instead, he brings a clear respect for the legacy while finding his own way into the vibe. It’s the kind of song that fits just about any summer evening.

The Black Keys – No Rain, No Flowers
After some recent critical stumbles, The Black Keys return to form with No Rain, No Flowers, a soulful, gritty track that leans more into heart than swagger. There’s a slow build here—a dusty organ line, bluesy guitar, and Dan Auerbach’s unmistakable rasp—that gives the song weight and warmth. Lyrically, it’s about growth through hardship, but it avoids cliché by sounding lived-in and real. It’s the kind of song that reminds you why people fell in love with this band in the first place.

Whether you're chasing new sounds or reconnecting with old favorites, these five tracks are worth a spin. They won’t all hit the same way, but that’s kind of the point.

Sometimes you need the space to reflect, sometimes you need something strange and beautiful—and sometimes, you just need a slow ride.

Sources:

• The Countdown on The Bay 88.7