The UK’s wettest summer for 100 years is almost over so we asked our reviewers to give us their favourite summer track, in the hope it might cheer us all up. Here’s what came back:
Emily Bruce: I have a whole playlist of summery songs on my iTunes, but this is my ultimate summer track. It’s just such a positive, happy song which makes me think of sunshine, and is the ultimate soundtrack to a sunny day. Hell, even on dreary days listening to it makes me think of summer and brings a smile to my face!
Kimberley Manderson: One of my top summery songs is Dakota by Stereophonics. I’m not entirely sure why, it might have something to do with Kelly Jones driving around an old Mustang with the hood down, or all the lyrical references to summer (laying back with your head on the grass, anyone?), but there’s something about Dakota which transports me to a teenage summer hanging out with my friends by the park and loch, mucking around while tanning our skin. The song has the perfect beat and combination of loud chorus and reflective ending which makes it a classic summer hit. (7 years makes it a classic, right?)
Jo Cox: We discovered Lissie at the end of a very long and exhausting day at Dot to Dot Festival in 2010. All summer, Cuckoo was the soundtrack to our evenings driving back and forth to gigs. Even now, it gets cracked out whenever we’re feeling down or things aren’t going our way.
Zoe Posnette: I’ve chosen this because I rediscovered it this summer, I’ve been playing it at full volume while I’ve been borrowing my mum’s car to move house. On the few days of sun we’ve had, it’s made the hard work transporting boxes up and down stairs that much more bearable, instantly washing away any fatigue and putting me in the mood to party. Sat in traffic, I can be smug knowing that I’m probably one of the few people not annoyed at everyone else on the road, bopping away behind the wheel. It even features a couple of summer festival-esque klaxons. An instant two-minute lift to the spirits.
Lisa Bentley: There are so many songs that could qualify for my summer song but I have to go with Razorlight’s Somewhere Else. Not my favourite song and certainly not my favourite band however, this was the song of that summer the year I went to my first ever festival. Razorlight started playing this song and the crowd went bonkers. There is something so completely unifying about that. How you and perfect strangers can find a connection through one simple song. Amazing. Whenever I hear Somewhere Else I am instantly transported to that awesome summer.
Becci Stanley: My top summer song would be Summer Jam by Set Your Goals. It is, well, exactly what the title suggests and it has the exact vibe that encapsulates the energy of summer. It’s lively, loud, packed to the brim with sunny beats and reels off a list of memories the band themselves have shared on tour. It acts like the perfect summer break diary, along with lyrics applicable to anybody such as “Even as we get older we can do it all over, Make our own plans and score the music to our own lives”. Perfect for chilling out in the sun or a lively night out.
Nicola Sloan: It was hard to choose a single song that encapsulates summer, but ‘I Feel Better’ by Hot Chip would be a great choice. With beautiful, soaring falsetto vocals and kettle drums no less, it is uplifting and pure sunshine. I remember seeing Hot Chip performing it at Glastonbury as the sun was setting (on TV – unfortunately I wasn’t lucky enough to be there) and I remember thinking it was just perfect against the backdrop of the summer evening. The whole song drips with hope and parties on the beach.
Beki Kidwell: My top summery song is Alt-J’s Fitzpleasure from the album An Awesome Wave. I first heard the song back in June on an advert for Guisborough Forest Festival. As soon as I heard the opening harmonies, the broken timing and heavy synth drop I got my phone straight out and shazzamed it. I’d not heard of Alt-J before then, but since I’ve bought the album and have completely fallen in love with it. Fitzpleasure is by far the most exciting song on the album, and every time I hear it I’m reminded about the few hot days in summer where my days consisted of playing it as loud as possible on my iPod while riding my bike to and from work. It’s abstract and slightly spacey sound makes me long for the sun – something which has been quite hidden away over the last few months. I was lucky enough to catch them live at Green Man festival 2012 and sure enough, as the opening notes of Fitzpleasure began – the sun came out, and quite matter of factly left the arena with a taste for what summer should have been.
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