Foster The People lands "Pumped Up Kicks" right in the sweet spot : sunburned afternoons, cheap sunglasses, and a song that sounds instantly bigger than the club it starts in. It feels like the kind of track you hear once and then spend the rest of the day trying to track down.
Young Empires are suddenly everywhere with "Rain Of Gold", the kind of new summer track that sounds like it already knows the DJ set ahead of you. this feels essential: bright, immediate, and weirdly confident.
Kisses drop Bermuda like a postcard from the coolest side of summer, and that feels immediately essential. It sounds brand new, glossy, and a little sly, which is exactly the kind of song that can sneak into a crowded season and own it.
Ginger Ninja and Sunshine feel like the first honest blast of pool-season air . It sounds brand-new, but it already has the swagger of a summer chart hit you keep pretending you discovered first.
The Blue Van are suddenly sounding like the smart side of summer 2010 with "There Goes My Love". It feels built for the month: catchy, cool, and just polished enough to sneak into every mixtape from here to Labor Day.
Spit Syndicate come in with “Starry-Eyed” sounding like the kind of track that sneaks out of nowhere and suddenly owns . It feels fresh, sunlit, and sharp enough to cut through every stale playlist hanging around this month.
Two Door Cinema Club hit a sweet spot with Something Good Can Work (The Twelves Remix), and it feels like the kind of cut that sneaks onto every summer playlist before anyone catches on. The pulse is bright, the hook is immediate, and it sounds built for windows down and bad decisions made in dayli…
Gorillaz and Mos Def hit hard with “Stylo,” and it feels like the coolest thing on the dial. It has the kind of swagger that makes every other summer track sound like it is still warming up.
Woolfy’s “Oh Missy” lands like a sun-faded postcard from the future, and that feels exactly right. It sounds fresh, glossy, and a little sly, which makes it an easy pick for the season’s unofficial poolside anthem.
Radio Ink lands Give Me What You Got (Nu Disco Radio Edit) like it is already warming every late-afternoon pool deck . It feels fresh, glossy, and just cheeky enough to sound like the next track everybody claims to have found first.
Yuksek and Chromeo drop "So Down" like a poolside grenade . It sounds brand-new, glossy, and a little smug—in the best way—right when summer needs a bassline with actual swagger.
Two Door Cinema Club and “What You Know” feel built : bright, lean, and impossible to ignore. It sounds like the kind of track that sneaks into every half-decent summer mix before the week is out.
The Virgins make "Rich Girls" feel like the kind of track everybody somehow knows by , even if they pretend they just found it last night. It lands like a glossy downtown flex with bite, which is exactly why it belongs on right now’s pool-side playlist.
My favorite Chillout songs from the past year.
Ypey drops "Without You" like it just surfaced from the best hour of a May night. In 2010, this sounds fresh, sleek, and exactly right for anyone chasing one more golden-hour spin.
Bush and Letting the Cables Sleep land like a fresh, late-spring slow-burn . It feels essential right now because it sounds bigger than the moment around it, like a track that already knows how to handle the after-hours.
Elcho’s Stop The World (Aquantint Mix) lands like a secret still beating the chart buzz . It feels brand-new, but it already sounds like the kind of record that owns the last light of the day.
Lux turns Northern Lights into the kind of Balearic sunset cut that feels oddly essential . It sounds brand new, like the record just landed and everyone has not yet caught up.
Future Loop Foundation sounds like it has quietly slipped onto a white-label Balearic 12-inch and somehow landed as the one record everyone suddenly needs. Monika's Summer feels right for right now: warm, sleek, and just niche enough to make your friends ask where you found it.
Mark's & Henry's turn Jill (The Making of...) into the kind of Balearic close-up that makes everything feel already sunlit and expensive. It sounds like the track everyone quietly claims they found first, and it slides straight into today’s cool-headed daylight.
Nitin Sawhney drops Homelands like it just landed on a better radio station than everything else . It feels essential right now because the month asks for music with atmosphere, bite, and a little world-weary swagger.
Digby Jones is back with Pina Colada (Jazz Mix), and it lands like a smart little summer wink . This is the kind of tune that sounds instantly essential: polished, coastal, and suspiciously good at making an ordinary afternoon feel more expensive.
Dzihan & Kamien drop Homebase like it just landed on the late-spring radar, and that feels right. It sounds too sleek, too warm, and too confident to stay a secret for long.
U2's "In A Little While" lands like a late-afternoon signal flare : calm, hopeful, and weirdly urgent. With spring drifting into summer, this one feels essential right now because it slows the room down without losing the pulse.
