Dear listeners,
Here we are again. About this time last year, with the sun loitering lazily above us, I wrote to you about embracing the sublime intensity of Peak Summer. We declared it Lizard Season — a climactic stretch of July and August that calls for welcoming the sun’s “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.”
Back then, I noted that some of the traditional exuberance of summer in New York City had been clouded by patches of gray and rainy weather. This year, we’ve had smoldering orange skies from wildfire smoke, a record number of flash floods and even a rare tornado watch. Global warming has in recent years transformed the city into a humid subtropical climate zone (the same classification as Tampa and New Delhi), bringing a panoply of strange and unsettling omens.
And yet, toward the end of last month, a postcard-perfect, blue-sky weekend arrived. I went to a rapturous block party and danced hip-to-hip in the street with strangers; took an edible in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park; ate not one but two B.L.T.s with freshly ripened, heirloom tomatoes so juicy and flavorful they’d bring a tear to your eye. I was on a mission to absorb every available ray of precious, life-giving energy. And I’m not done yet.
Like last year, I’ve assembled 10 new songs for you (released in the past year or so) from up-and-coming artists that capture the spirit of this season. They make a journey from hammock-swaying indie rock (Way Dynamic) to windows-down, Y2K-revival pop (Lolitah, Gabriel Jacoby), to sweat-the-pain-away dance music (Joshua Idehen, Tomora). Aural vitamin D.
See you outside,
Reggie
Listen along while you read.
1. Way Dynamic: “Miffed It”
On this instant, endearingly self-deprecating calling card, the Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Dylan Young delivers marvelous melodies and a lullaby vocal performance that will inspire justified comparisons to Nick Drake.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2. Victoryland: “No Cameras”
A shot of golden-age, indie rock effervescence from the outstanding debut full-length album by Brooklyn’s Julian McCamman. A line from the chorus, “My heart is a room with no cameras in it,” which doubles as the album’s title, playfully alludes to both the chambers of the organ and an internal space you can’t see inside — a rarity in an age of presumptive self-exposure.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
3. Lime Garden: “All Bad Parts”
A promising four-piece from Brighton, England, brings the goods on this cheeky charm offensive about love’s delusions that thrives on a sauntering bass line and anthemic hook.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
4. Charlotte Day Wilson featuring Saya Gray: “Lean”
Float away on a bed of dreamy, alternative pop/R&B by two rising singer-producers from Toronto.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
5. Lauren Auder: “yes”
Negative vibes dissolve upon contact with this ode to agreeability (featuring a superlative hook) from Auder, a husky-voiced British-French singer and producer.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
6. Namasenda: “Love Island”
This fine slice of synth-pop escapism (named after the summer dating competition show/internationally franchised fever dream) from a Swedish former PC Music affiliate patiently builds to one of the most euphoric crescendos I’ve heard in a long time. (Turn off your crossfader to fully experience it.)
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
7. Lolitah: “Bounce”
The London singer’s self-assured single — which sounds like a lost file from early millennium Neptunes sessions with Kelis or Mýa — feels destined to galvanize prom dance floors and sunsets on the beach alike.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
8. Gabriel Jacoby featuring Tom. G: “bootleg”
Continuing the Y2K love, Jacoby — a Tampa-raised, R&B/neo-soul singer-producer — channels the iconic kick-drum and guitar of Justin Timberlake’s “Like I Love You” on this party-starter brimming with salt-rimmed Southern swagger.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
9. Joshua Idehen: “Don’t Let It Get You Down”
The infectiously optimistic British-Nigerian poet and songwriter teams with the Swedish producer Ludvig Parment on this potent audio protein for sweat-heavy Peloton sessions or after-hour raves.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
10. Tomora: “Somewhere Else”
Light-footed whimsy blends with steely-eyed resolve on a vintage Euro club jam with a cathartic climax from the Norwegian singer-producer Aurora and Tom Rowlands, one half of the Chemical Brothers.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
The Amplifier Playlist
“Lizard Season 2026” track list Track 1: Way Dynamic, “Miffed It” Track 2: Victoryland, “No Cameras” Track 3: Lime Garden, “All Bad Parts” Track 4: Charlotte Day Wilson featuring Saya Gray, “Lean” Track 5: Lauren Auder, “yes” Track 6: Namasenda, “Love Island” Track 7: Lolitah, “Bounce” Track 8: Gabriel Jacoby featuring Tom. G, “bootleg” Track 9: Joshua Idehen, “Don’t Let It Get You Down” Track 10: Tomora, “Somewhere Else”
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