Summer comes back every year, and with it comes the pressure to make the most of the season. This year – are you also having a year?! – why not take yourself on a sonic voyage of respite and reverie? Discover this compilation of evocative tunes, perfect to take outside on your Bluetooth speaker, to meditate on a drive out of town, or to add to your balmy TikToks and Reels.
“Watercolor Ghost” – No Cosmos
“A project is the only way of making an escape. Some of us remain seated while others float a few inches off the ground,” we read in No Cosmos’ bio. Led by Montreal-based trumpeter Scott Bevins, the musical project’s intent is clear here, and with a song like “Watercolour Ghost,” being haunted has never been so joyful, beautiful, experimental and jazzy.
“Moondog” – Leif Vollebekk
With its rainstorm sounds, nostalgic harmonica line, and visions of a past life, “Moondog” is a tear-jerker. Songster Leif Vollebekk summons us to make amends with the future, forever changing, while making a compelling case to pull away from the weather of the mind’s incessant showers.
“Thrown Around” – James Blake
Newly independent James Blake unleashes his never-drying inventiveness with “Thrown Around.” This synth-driven, backbeat track inspired by 90s Britpop is exquisitely trippy and iterative. Don’t be fooled by the riveting music video – the song is rather an ode to togetherness.
“Only One” – Cassandra Jenkins
Dream-pop songstress Cassandra Jenkins’s latest album My Light, My Destroyer is full of hard-hitters, but something about “Only One” takes you by the hand to an expansive, familiar place. Jenkin’s hushed tone and clear phrasing, the muted flugelhorn, and the shoegaze guitar shreds over heavy synths create trancelike soundscape.
“Next Time’ – Caity Gyorgy
The melancholy of the clarinet opening melody line, the big strings orchestration, the piano, and Caity Gyogy’s pearlescent voice sing of betrayal and doing things differently. We don’t know what inspired this woeful composition, but it transports you with its emotion and old-time charm, managing to still feel so current. This is a call to romanticize your heartbreak, always!
“Early 2000’s” – Tommy Crane
Montreal and New York-based drummer Tommy Crane’s latest solo record Dance Music For all Occasions opens with a tempo-led harmonic reverie to twirl and waltz to, eyes closed. Ambient jazz, but make it tuneful, dazzling, and open-hearted.
“Maker Taker” – Kaia Kater
Reeling on existential questions, banjo revivalist (and Montreal native) Kaia Kater‘s sorrowful narrative and percussive plucking are so soothing. Add in the soaring brass for a stripped-down, pensive account.
“Waste of What Your Kids Won’t Have” – Sufjan Stevens
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Sufjan Stevens seminal album Seven Swans. Unbeknownst to many, the deluxe edition of the record included a bonus title, the quietly poignant “Waste of What Your Kids Won’t Have”, which seems more relevant now than ever.
“Don’t Just Sit There” – Lucius
We love Lucius for the kinetic energy of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig harmonies, and the sing-along qualities of their anthems. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Wildewoman, the record that put the power pop-folk band on the map, Lucius came out with a new recording of the illustrious album. The revisited tracks come with an invigorating, chill vibe, and the new take on the heart-wrenching “Don’t Just Sit There” is not to be outdone.
“Michigan” – Tasha
Illinoise Broadway musical star Tasha released the layered, reminiscing single “Michigan” off her recently announced upcoming album All This and So Much More, out September 20, 2024. Here’s how the artist presents the track: “This song is about the missing and the return; the reliable comfort of a sunset on a nice day, a friend to sit with, and the shining hope of more comfort to come. Don’t you feel pretty in this fading light?”. To which we answer yes, and yes.
For more summer playlist articles, check out: Top 10 New Songs for Your Summer 2024 Road Trip Playlist and Top 10 80s Songs for Perfect Summer Vibes.
Written by Christelle Saint-Julien
Illustration by Holly Li
