Musical Highlights of The Summer

Albums I had on loop at parties, at the beach, and during midnight walks along the port after a big night out.

Brat summer is coming to an end, and while Brat fall is upon us with the reopening of my favorite rave spaces, here are some things that have this scorching heat and perpetual sweat made worth the summer.

• BRAT - CHARLI XCX

Charli’s 6th album, while not my favorite of hers, has been like for many of us, the soundtrack of a summer filled with getting drunk and high by the beach. From reflective tracks like Apple to the anthemic Mean Girls bursting through my headphones at 2 am in a long silk dress, I lived through this era with a gleeful need to party with my closest friends, oblivious to the outside world. Like Charli said, all you need to have a Brat summer is a white tank with no bra, a cigarette, and a bic lighter, and that’s pretty much been all I’ve worn all summer long while blasting this album.

• ROMANCE - FOUNTAIN DC

While recently released, Fountain D.C’s indie sleaze Romance is a favorite of mine. I followed the release of singles such as Starbuster and Favourite, finding a cathartic and danceable release to their tracks. It was the most played album at the parties I hosted, offering a perfect blend of fresh indie-rock music that makes metalheads and hyperpop fans happy and not request to add songs to the fucking queue of the perfectly curated playlist.

• THE DARE

Harrison Patrick Smith’s been having a bit of an insane year having produced the single Guess of Charli’s new album and with the song Girls suddenly popping off on tiktok. It might be preventive to say this considering the full album comes out in September, but I’ve been listening to his music since 2022 on repeat, dancing to Bloodwork and singing karaoke to Sex and Perfume. Needless to say, the moment What’s Wrong With New York drops, I’ll be plugging in my headphones and dancing alone in my room at 6 am as if I had ever stepped foot in NYC myself.

• LYCHEE JUICE - FREYA MCKEE

Lychee Juice, the first EP of single songwriter Freya Mcgee reminds me of a contemporary Mazzie Star. It’s contemplative, and quiet, with soft echo-y guitars that make a sunrise walk home after a rave perfect.

• SANTIGOLD

For over ten years now summer has been synonymous with Santigold, an indie sleaze queen mostly known for classics such as L.E.S Artistes and Disparate Youth. Her self-titled album from 2008 has accompanied me on road trips through Spain with my mom with the soul-gripping rock bass lines on You’ll Find A Way. Say Aha is perfect with its trumpet and earworm chorus for those road trips with your friends along the coast where everyone’s arguing about which way to turn (every street is a one-way street so you’re fucked either way).

• EVERYTHING IS ALIVE - SLOWDIVE

Releasing their first dream-pop album in the early 90s, Slowdive made a comeback in 2023 with a quiet dreamscape album with heavy synths and airy vocals leading you to introspection when you’re staring at the stars at night at the end of a party when you’re cleaning up your apartment.

Here are some of the albums that made my soundtrack for summer 2024, what are yours?

Full playlist: