Hot weather? In the U.K? Surely not. Notice that I’m not calling this my ‘summer’ playlist, because I don’t want to tempt fate, especially since the temperature has already dropped since I first thought of this post idea lol. I also won’t accept it’s summer until my exams are over because the concept of a holiday sucks all of the motivation out of me, and I’m sure many of you can relate. I’m sure many of you will also relate to the fact that music is definitely a seasonal thing, and I can’t help but change my listening based on the weather and my surroundings. So, with even a glimpse of warm weather these past few days, it’s becoming clear what tunes will make their way into my ears this summer, or every time the temperature passes about 10 degrees😄.
I Was a Fool - Sunflower Bean
Recent album release Twentytwo in Blue from this lovely band has come just in time for sunnier days. Their band name alone screams warm days lying in a field, and so does this great album. With their Fleetwood Mac-esque melodies and dreamy, easy-going arrangements, Sunflower Bean capture everything wonderful about lazy sunny days and provide the perfect soundtrack for that, especially in this lovely tune which is definitely a highlight of the album.
Carolina - Harry Styles
I have never personally been to Carolina in the U.S., but from this summery bop alone, I can imagine it’s a pretty sunny place to be. Harry has remarked whilst talking about the album, a compilation of songs I associate far more with winter months, due to it’s often somber themes, that ‘Carolina’ was the bit of fun missing from the original arrangement of the album - the uplifting bop that was written and thrown into the track list very last minute before release. This up tempo, very American sounding song is certainly fun as Harry claims, and there’s little room to argue that this does not fit perfectly in a playlist for a summer day. Admittedly it’s set in a land far from drizzly England, but it certainly has the power to transport you there.
Pyro - Kings of Leon
If this album was the only thing you listened to on a sunny day, you’d be doing absolutely nothing wrong. Come Around Sundown is summer personified, simple as that. I don’t know how it’s possible for songs to make you literally warm and simulate sun when it isn’t even there, but Kings of Leon did it with this one. Any one of the songs could accompany a summer playlist perfectly, and ‘Pyro’ is definitely one of my favourites - it’s serene and makes you feel as if you’re living amongst the album art - it’s simply sun in a song.
Sun - Two Door Cinema Club
There is definitely a running theme of ‘sun’ today in my picks, but I guess that’s hardly surprising. I’ve always found it surprising how much I love TDCC due to my usual preference of heavier guitar. However, on chilled summer days, sometimes a rip-roaring solo from AC/DC and Zeppelin simply won’t do. That is why this album, and especially third track ‘Sun’ makes its way back to my ears at this time of year. This is sweet in every way, with electro riffs accompanied with lovely lyrics, making for a perfect all-rounder for a sunny day.
T-Shirt Weather - Circa Waves
This will come as a surprise to literally no one. What can I say, this tune just is summer isn’t it, and it’s pretty cool that a Liverpool band were able to create a song that so many people now associate with the sun, and enjoying it with your mates. I joked on my Twitter (@hancxmpbell - cheeky plug), that I wouldn’t accept that it was even close to summer until I thought the weather was good enough for this song - I simply won’t listen to this in cold weather, it’s a crime, and if you do...you’re weird mate. Yesterday however, strolling through London in 23 degree heat, I finally gave in, and immediately I remembered why this song just has to be saved for hot weather. There’s not much else to say on this, it’s an absolute bop that epitomises great summer memeories spent with your mates, which I hope I make more of this year. If this hasn’t made it onto your playlist since the recent heatwave, you’re doing something wrong.
She Takes Her Time - SPINN
Completely unbiased pick, I promise. But seriously, there are connotations that if you know people in a band, you’re obligated to listen to and support their music. This may be true in many circumstances, but with SPINN, I can honestly say that I listen to their small but mighty repertoire often, and on my own accord. Any tune from their recently released EP would fit well with a summery playlist, and ‘She Takes Her Time’ is my personal choice. Like I said, summer really mellows out my taste for heavy guitar music, so I welcome a jangly, easy-going banger when the sun is out. SPINN have done this very well and I can say with confidence that it does indeed belong on anyone’s 2018 summer playlist, and that you wont’t regret that.
Don’t Walk Away From Love - Peace
A new addition to my listening is this pre-release track from the anticipated new Peace album Kindess Is The New Rock And Roll. The glimpses of this album that have been released so far have certainly intrigued me and I’m excited to get my teeth into the whole thing come its release in May. Whilst heavy guitar finds little purpose in a summer playlist for me, Peace have gotten a happy medium in this new bop. I never would have thought the undoubtedly indie band would have much heavy influence, but after they covered my favourite Zeppelin song ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ a year or two ago, and seeing frontman Harry Koisser rarely without a Les Paul in hand, I can now see exactly where these heavier influences lie. The riff in this tune is so Zeppelin, just a bit more modern sounding, and whilst fairly chilled it might be, the slight distortion and glimpses of heaviness are delicate but very much there - meaning I get a rock song for a sunny day that doesn’t insult your ears too much; the perfect medium ground.
Ice Cream - The Wombats
I have wavered back and forth about what I really think about The Wombats’ latest release, and whilst I still don’t think it’s perfect by any means, it’s hard to dispute that a song that repeatedly says ‘melting like an ice cream in the sun’, would fit pretty well on anyone’s summer playlist. This is a very catchy song and with it being a very recent release, it can be suggested that the band did indeed want a few summer essentials to come from it; trying to replicate Circa Waves’ success? Who knows. Either way, it’s a fitting song for the theme of my playlist right now and I’m sure it’ll stick around in my ears well into the summer.
There we have it - the songs of the moment for me, now that the sun has finally made an appearance. Who knows, if snow comes back next week I’ll have to retire all of these songs until July and pull out my heavy, gloomy cold weather songs. But, for now, whilst I absorb every last moment of this brief warmth, this is what I’ll be listening to. Let me know what you’re all listening to this sunny week and I hope some of my recommendations make their way into your playlists too.
Happy sunbathing🌞
H x
I Was a Fool - Sunflower Bean
Recent album release Twentytwo in Blue from this lovely band has come just in time for sunnier days. Their band name alone screams warm days lying in a field, and so does this great album. With their Fleetwood Mac-esque melodies and dreamy, easy-going arrangements, Sunflower Bean capture everything wonderful about lazy sunny days and provide the perfect soundtrack for that, especially in this lovely tune which is definitely a highlight of the album.
Carolina - Harry Styles
I have never personally been to Carolina in the U.S., but from this summery bop alone, I can imagine it’s a pretty sunny place to be. Harry has remarked whilst talking about the album, a compilation of songs I associate far more with winter months, due to it’s often somber themes, that ‘Carolina’ was the bit of fun missing from the original arrangement of the album - the uplifting bop that was written and thrown into the track list very last minute before release. This up tempo, very American sounding song is certainly fun as Harry claims, and there’s little room to argue that this does not fit perfectly in a playlist for a summer day. Admittedly it’s set in a land far from drizzly England, but it certainly has the power to transport you there.
Pyro - Kings of Leon
If this album was the only thing you listened to on a sunny day, you’d be doing absolutely nothing wrong. Come Around Sundown is summer personified, simple as that. I don’t know how it’s possible for songs to make you literally warm and simulate sun when it isn’t even there, but Kings of Leon did it with this one. Any one of the songs could accompany a summer playlist perfectly, and ‘Pyro’ is definitely one of my favourites - it’s serene and makes you feel as if you’re living amongst the album art - it’s simply sun in a song.
Sun - Two Door Cinema Club
There is definitely a running theme of ‘sun’ today in my picks, but I guess that’s hardly surprising. I’ve always found it surprising how much I love TDCC due to my usual preference of heavier guitar. However, on chilled summer days, sometimes a rip-roaring solo from AC/DC and Zeppelin simply won’t do. That is why this album, and especially third track ‘Sun’ makes its way back to my ears at this time of year. This is sweet in every way, with electro riffs accompanied with lovely lyrics, making for a perfect all-rounder for a sunny day.
T-Shirt Weather - Circa Waves
This will come as a surprise to literally no one. What can I say, this tune just is summer isn’t it, and it’s pretty cool that a Liverpool band were able to create a song that so many people now associate with the sun, and enjoying it with your mates. I joked on my Twitter (@hancxmpbell - cheeky plug), that I wouldn’t accept that it was even close to summer until I thought the weather was good enough for this song - I simply won’t listen to this in cold weather, it’s a crime, and if you do...you’re weird mate. Yesterday however, strolling through London in 23 degree heat, I finally gave in, and immediately I remembered why this song just has to be saved for hot weather. There’s not much else to say on this, it’s an absolute bop that epitomises great summer memeories spent with your mates, which I hope I make more of this year. If this hasn’t made it onto your playlist since the recent heatwave, you’re doing something wrong.
She Takes Her Time - SPINN
Completely unbiased pick, I promise. But seriously, there are connotations that if you know people in a band, you’re obligated to listen to and support their music. This may be true in many circumstances, but with SPINN, I can honestly say that I listen to their small but mighty repertoire often, and on my own accord. Any tune from their recently released EP would fit well with a summery playlist, and ‘She Takes Her Time’ is my personal choice. Like I said, summer really mellows out my taste for heavy guitar music, so I welcome a jangly, easy-going banger when the sun is out. SPINN have done this very well and I can say with confidence that it does indeed belong on anyone’s 2018 summer playlist, and that you wont’t regret that.
Don’t Walk Away From Love - Peace
A new addition to my listening is this pre-release track from the anticipated new Peace album Kindess Is The New Rock And Roll. The glimpses of this album that have been released so far have certainly intrigued me and I’m excited to get my teeth into the whole thing come its release in May. Whilst heavy guitar finds little purpose in a summer playlist for me, Peace have gotten a happy medium in this new bop. I never would have thought the undoubtedly indie band would have much heavy influence, but after they covered my favourite Zeppelin song ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ a year or two ago, and seeing frontman Harry Koisser rarely without a Les Paul in hand, I can now see exactly where these heavier influences lie. The riff in this tune is so Zeppelin, just a bit more modern sounding, and whilst fairly chilled it might be, the slight distortion and glimpses of heaviness are delicate but very much there - meaning I get a rock song for a sunny day that doesn’t insult your ears too much; the perfect medium ground.
Ice Cream - The Wombats
I have wavered back and forth about what I really think about The Wombats’ latest release, and whilst I still don’t think it’s perfect by any means, it’s hard to dispute that a song that repeatedly says ‘melting like an ice cream in the sun’, would fit pretty well on anyone’s summer playlist. This is a very catchy song and with it being a very recent release, it can be suggested that the band did indeed want a few summer essentials to come from it; trying to replicate Circa Waves’ success? Who knows. Either way, it’s a fitting song for the theme of my playlist right now and I’m sure it’ll stick around in my ears well into the summer.
There we have it - the songs of the moment for me, now that the sun has finally made an appearance. Who knows, if snow comes back next week I’ll have to retire all of these songs until July and pull out my heavy, gloomy cold weather songs. But, for now, whilst I absorb every last moment of this brief warmth, this is what I’ll be listening to. Let me know what you’re all listening to this sunny week and I hope some of my recommendations make their way into your playlists too.
Happy sunbathing🌞
H x
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