Along with the shorts, shades and suntan lotion in this (mostly) sunny weather a great summer playlist is also an essential. Whether you’re chilling in a beer garden with a glass of Pimms or hitting up festival season in style or, like me, just lying in bed like me avoiding all human contact, then here are my favourite albums and artists that give me that warm, fuzzy feeling of summer.
1. Foals
An indie rock band hailing from Oxford, (even the historical Oxford v Cambridge rivalry has not deterred me from this band) Foals just embody everything that is summer in my opinion. Holy Fire has already become my go-to sunbathing album for 2013 as it flows seeminglessly but it does not do little enough that you fall asleep and end up lying face first in the sun for near three hours.
2. Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
This woman has a powerhouse voice and will never get the credit she deserves in my opinion. “The Lion, The Beast, The Beat” and “Paris (Ooh La La)” are the songs I listen to in the morning when I’m feeling self-conscious about going outside in skimpy shorts and a tank top, but after hearing a Grace Potter song I’m always ready to hit the beach. Definitely the best way to start a summer morning.
3. Train
There is literally no need for an explanation. Train are the ultimate summer band, everyone knows it and if you don’t you’re lying to everyone, including yourself.
4. Sigur Ros
When I was in Tenerife last year in the heat of summer, Sigur Ros helped me get through the excruciatingly humid days with their ethereal and minimalist sound as I was just too relaxed to release how disgustingly heavy the air felt. (If you can’t tell I much prefer the spring/autumn months, I like to drink my water, not breathe it in)
5. Rudimental
Feel the Love was definitely the anthem of my last year’s summer nights and I just would never want to imagine a summer without Rudimental anymore. Definitely an essential for late nights whilst camping in the woods or the beach.
Honorable mentions also go to The Black Keys, Daft Punk and Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard which wakes me up every morning in the BEST MOOD EVER.
bethonagillim 