Whether you’re slurping slushies or strawberry daiquiris this summer, no sunny day is complete without some enchanting melodies.
The Charlatan’s Volume 53 contributors and editors return for one last hoorah in this musical collection deemed crucial for a successful summer tunes shuffle.
Natasha Baldin: Editor-in-Chief, Volume 54, copy editor, Volume 53, arts and culture editor, Volume 52
For me, Pelago by Ryan Hurd is the epitome of summer. I know country music isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but hear me out. While Hurd was first known for penning No. 1 singles such as Lady A’s “What If I Never Get Over You,” this album is a beautiful blend of his soulful rasp and his way with words.
With playful acoustics and banter-heavy cliches, “Coast” is the perfect tune to play full blast on a summer drive. “Pass It On” is another upbeat summer classic about sharing your joy with your loved ones, because after all, “you can’t take it with you when you’re gone.”
Every accomplished songwriter must have their timeless love songs that best soundtrack a vibrant summer sunset, and Hurd is no exception. In “Every Other Memory,” a seamless guitar line backs Hurd’s recollections of an old romance through a mental scrapbook of their time together.
One thing Pelago never fails to do is transport me right to the scene. No matter where I am when I press play on this album, suddenly, I can almost feel the sun on my skin and the ocean breeze running through my hair.
Audrey Gunn: News editor, Volume 53
Love and Compromise by Mahalia has been a favourite of mine for years. Something about its delicious R&B sound makes this album the ideal soundtrack for those warm summer evenings. Each time I hit play, I’m transported to the dog days of late summer when life just seems to slow down.
Although the album’s mood varies with each song, it still maintains a cohesive vibe from start to finish. I couldn’t write an album recommendation without picking a favourite track, and ironically enough, the No. 1 spot goes to the album’s final song, “Square 1.” Both comforting and uplifting, it’s one of those songs that makes its way into all of my playlists.
Flowing bass lines and relatable, captivating lyrics make for a truly relaxing listening experience. It’s the perfect album to play while chatting with friends and soaking up the sun.
Kyra Vellinga: Features editor, Volume 54, arts and culture editor, Volume 53
Janelle Monae’s The Age of Pleasure is the epitome of dreaming. Released in summer 2023, this was my go-to album while driving or taking energizing walks along the Rideau Canal last summer. In celebratory Afrofuturistic and R&B style, Monae invites marginalized folk into their most lush utopian imaginings.
The Age of Pleasure offers groovy seduction in glowing evening hues. The tracklist is intentionally curated for immersive listening, as Monae crafts the songs to drift into one another. With swimming techniques serving as allegories to sensuality in “Water Slide,” everything about this album envelopes summer in your early 20s.
Additionally, homages to Black and queer cultural icons, such as David Bowie, throughout the album reflect Monae’s own commitment to authenticity in an often-homogenized entertainment industry. From non-monogamous adventures in “Float (feat. Sean Kuti & Egypt 80)” to the self-love displayed in “Champagne Shit,” The Age of Pleasure vividly illustrates there is no room for guilt in liberatory pleasure.
Matteo Golin: Multimedia/web, Volume 53, Volume 52
I associate “Nur geträumt” by Nena with summer bike riding around my neighbourhood with my friends during the initial COVID-19 lock-downs. “Nur geträumt” has some plucky, upbeat notes with a subtle undertone of longing. The melody compliments my memories of spring-into-summer weather, biking with friends and not being certain about the future.
Alexa MacKie: Contributor, Volume 53
If sunny afternoons are for beach parties and picnic blankets spread over rolling green hills, bury me at makeout creek is for early-morning forest strolls underneath roiling clouds and drizzling rain.
Mitski’s album encapsulates an authentic summer era. Somewhere between the occasional gloomy thundershower and the transition between seasons. “Autumn comes when you’re not yet done with the summer passing by,” she laments in “Francis Forever.”
This is the summer I long for. The dewy days that remind me of my childhood, scouring the forest with my mom for pussywillows and tree bark to build fairy homes for our garden. Always peaceful, but never lonely.
Mitski’s lyrics are dramatically poised — on the vigorous “First Love / Late Spring” she confesses, “One word from you / And I would jump off of this ledge I’m on, baby” — with hints of longing hanging from every note.
Her yearning through soaring pop anchored by subdued tempos immortalizes my favourite summer feeling. Though less eccentric than a late night party, bury me at makeout creek is the comforting morning after, where the excitement dies down to leisurely gratitude for the slower moments of the season.
Realizing country music is a divisive genre, this might not land for everyone. But for me, summer time means country music on a sunset drive through the rolling farm field hills of southern Ontario.
Although many traditionalists will decry that the very soul of country music has been lost through the growing trend of country pop, Keith Urban honours the genre’s past and present with his experimental and innovative spirit. Enter Ripcord, Urban’s ninth studio album released in 2016. It’s a genre-defying collection of tracks blending country, rock, pop and funk into a rhythmic, soul-soothing experience.
My personal favourite track, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16,” is an infectious and groovy exploration of the influences of American adolescence. Urban’s sublime ability to stir listeners’ emotions with just a guitar is unparalleled in the genre. He strings together 1970s funk, electric pop and traditional country to create music that is undeniably influenced by modern tastes while also being incredibly adventurous and textured. If that weren’t enough, collaborations with music icons Pitbull, Nile Rodgers and Carrie Underwood guarantee a country album like no other.
Sadeen Mohsen: Contributor, Volume 53
Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack: The best of ABBA. The best of a Greek summer getaway. A dreamy, kick-off-your-sandals and spend your days on a warm sandy beach playlist. An essential for summer. Best combined with a rom-com novel that will have you laughing out loud in public.
The movie soundtrack is a true testament to what summer is all about: feel-good sunny days, heart-warming moments with loved ones and taking a chance on a spontaneous adventure for the plot.
Warning: you will have the urge to get up and sing karaoke and you may also receive the “what an oddball” look from total strangers, but who cares?
Ryan Clark: Op/ed editor, Volume 53
It wouldn’t be one of my recommendations without a shoutout to my favourite band, The Dear Hunter. While many of their albums have been my go-to during the summer season, there isn’t a better choice than their July 2022 album, Antimai.
Antimai is the first full-scale entry in a new science-fiction concept album series. It tells of class struggles in a dystopian world where citizens live in one of eight “rings” surrounding a tower. Each song on this track is from the perspective of someone living in each ring.
The album combines political allegories, funky space sounds and bouncy vibraphones to create another masterpiece by the band.
There are many standout tracks on this album so choosing a favourite is difficult. One of the most memorable, however, would be “Ring 3 – Luxury.” This nearly 10-minute song opens with a sinister, yet Hamilton-esque, monologue, then transitioning into a calypso-driven tune perfect for summer. Out of nowhere, the track concludes with a strange tongue-in-cheek dance number — one that foreshadows the album’s closer.
The album’s sequel, Sunya, is rumoured to be coming out this year, perhaps later in the summer!
Isabelle Alexandre: Podcast co-host, Volume 53
Aller-retour by Bon Entendeur is hands-down the best French music album for the summer. Most songs on the album have featured artists, with the overall style consisting of a mix of jazz and funk.
The album transports me back to the Promenade des Anglais in Nice and my summers in the south of France. The blue Mediterranean waters glistening, the hot breeze brushing against your skin and the taste of a crisp, chilled Aperol spritz on a warm summer day. For me, particularly nostalgic songs include “Le temps est bon,” “Entrevue Séduction,” “Monaco” and “Viens à Juan-les-Pins.”
I used to listen to “Le temps est bon” on my way to school in the springtime. School in France starts early, and this song takes me back to the streets of Paris, with the café owner on my street sweeping and setting up for the day with the birds chirping while waiting for the metro as it sweeps onto the tracks with a cold breeze. This album makes me homesick for French springs, early summers and simpler times.
Jonah Grignon: Podcast co-host, Volume 53
“Born Yesterday” by Hollerado is, simply put, a song that begs to be blasted with the car windows down. This 2017 release from the Burnstown, Ont. indie-rock band is the type of song you picture playing over the credits sequence in a movie about your life. Electric, energetic and infectious, if that opening guitar riff doesn’t get you immediately hooked, then I wish you the best of luck ever having fun again.
Featured graphic by Alisha Velji/the Charlatan.
