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By Reggie Ugwu
Dear listeners,
A week ago, I went to two backyard barbecues and two rooftop hangs in the span of 24 hours. This past weekend, I crisscrossed from a block party to the beach to an outdoor concert to a different block party.
In general, it has been a gray and mild summer in New York City, which has felt like treachery. We’re not supposed to do mild here. So I’ve relished the occasions this month when days of unfettered sun have trailed one after the other. Endorphins from UV rays gallop through my bloodstream. Blue skies hypnotize me out of my inhibitions. Agendas slip away like steam from a hot spring. At last, Lizard Season.
Lizard Season, to borrow a term from my friend Morgan, is that stretch of mid-July and August when summer is at full force. Those of us who celebrate feel our moods soar along with the sun’s highest and longest route across the sky. Embracing Lizard Season means welcoming its sweet, hot sting against your skin; leaning into the melt; basking in the too-muchness, knowing that one day soon there won’t be nearly enough.
This week, as guest host filling in for my culture desk colleague Lindsay Zoladz, I’ve made a playlist of 10 new songs that channel the spirit of peak summer. Tracks by Fade Evare, Wishy and yeule shimmer with the languorous luxury of an afternoon picnic. It closes out with more up-tempo jams by Georgie & Joe, Deki Alem and deBasement — music for dancing on a rooftop under a 9 p.m. sunset.
Find me outside,
Reggie
Listen along while you read.
1. Fade Evare: “Send Me Out”
Leave it to the Aussies of Fade Evare — a Melbourne-based, dream-pop four-piece — to make a song that sounds the way an endless summer ought to feel.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2. Momma: “New Friend”
A daydream in a hammock from the Brooklyn indie-rock outfit Momma.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
3. Wishy: “Over and Over”
The gently driving drum breaks and sauntering guitar of this track, from Indianapolis’s Wishy, pair seamlessly with Momma’s “New Friend.” Fittingly, the two bands toured together this spring.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
4. Derby: “Gold”
I haven’t been able to listen to Derby’s ecstatic alt-pop single “Gold” without immediately replaying it, or howling its infectiously self-loathing refrain: “There won’t be a hateful bone in your casket / meanwhile they’ll bury me a bastard.”
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
5. Four Tet: “Into Dust (Still Falling)”
I heard the London-born electronic music torchbearer Four Tet play this dazzling dance track/secular prayer (which samples Mazzy Star’s “Into Dust”) at a festival under a bridge in the spring and was excited to see its official release last month. The melody draws you in like the tide.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
6. yeule: “Dudu”
Like running through a field of wildflowers.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
7. Bakar featuring Lancey Foux: “Everytime”
“Dudu” Part 2, on a bike with a cooler of frozen piña coladas in the basket.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
8. Georgie & Joe: “Student”
The party starts with this shape-shifting stomper from the ’90s-influenced, London electro-pop duo Georgie & Joe.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
9. Deki Alem: “Fun”
The Swedish duo Deki Alem reimagines the Prodigy and Blur at their most bombastic.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
10. deBasement: “Aperol Spritz”
An X-rated, heart-of-the-night anthem that gives a spicy twist to the European vacationer’s favorite midday treat.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
The Amplifier Playlist
“Welcome to Lizard Season” track list
Track 1: Fade Evare, “Send Me Out”
Track 2: Momma, “New Friend”
Track 3: Wishy, “Over and Over”
Track 4: Derby, “Gold”
Track 5: Four Tet, “Into Dust (Still Falling)”
Track 6: yeule, “Dudu”
Track 7: Bakar featuring Lancey Foux, “Everytime”
Track 8: Georgie & Joe, “Student”
Track 9: Deki Alem, “Fun”
Track 10: deBasement, “Aperol Spritz”
Reggie Ugwu is a Times culture reporter.
The post Songs for the Heat of Peak Summer: Welcome to Lizard Season appeared first on New York Times.
