☀Songs of Summer 2019☀
ROSES // NOT 4 U – Sadie Nencini (Emma Sherry, Head of Music [External])
ROSES // NOT 4 U is the lead single from Sadie Nencini’s debut album SUPER BLUE BLOOD MOON. Although so much amazing music has been released over the summer, for me it is Sadie Nencini’s track which takes the crown. Having seen Nencini’s artistry flourish over the past few years, watching her undertake the creative process of SBBM has been wonderful to see, and even more amazing to see the incredible result. The album is soaked with dreamy, alternative pop vibes, and ROSES // NOT 4 U is an empowering masterpiece, promoting self-love. This feel-good track quickly became a hallmark for all of my playlists and road trips; everyone who has heard the song loves it, and everyone who is yet to hear it is about to fall in love.
Take Me Back to London (Sir Spyro Remix) – Ed Sheeran feat. Stormzy, Jaykae & Aitch (Char Stape, Head of Music [Internal])
‘Jet-plane headed up to the sky’… Thanks go out to my mate Michael for ensuring the lyrics of this infectious tune got etched onto my brain this summer. Take Me Back to London (Sir Spyro Remix) ironically reminds me of Outlook Festival in Croatia, notorious for its underground music scene, due to the countless plays it received at afters. Thus, it not only became synonymous with my time at this festival, but the song of my summer.
There are many reasons to support the Spyro remix of this Ed Sheeran track, which dropped this summer, as it actually bears a similarity to older grime releases. Spyro incorporates a female vocal sample and couples it with a more exciting grime beat than the original. Furthermore, Ed selflessly hands over half his song to newcomers, Jaykae and Aitch, who go head-to-head for an impressive rap off. The contrast of their Brum and Manny accents immediately grabs attention; Jaykae puts Brum on the map and Aitch kills his verse with his routine formidable flow. This perhaps explains the songs success, topping the charts and becoming more favoured than the original tune.
My interest in Ed’s track only continued to grow when Wiley voiced his opposition to it. But that’s a story for another day. Overall, Take Me Back to London (Sir Spyro Remix) is a brilliant remake of an already decent song.
Your Dog – Soccer Mommy (Caitlin Tyrrell)
Your Dog is a punchy and angst-filled anthem, documenting the relatable and well-known anger at being made to feel second best. Whilst the song is fueled with punk undertones it never loses sight of the indie rock that has shaped Allison’s sound in previous releases – making it the perfect tune to blare out of speakers and dance out your frustration with life to. This may not be the light song typically associated with the summer season, but its feisty message left me feeling empowered.
No Going Back – Yuno (Grace Lea)
I found this track shamelessly binge-watching chick flicks on Netflix over the summer, with this particular song being featured on the soundtrack of the rom-com ‘The Perfect Date’. The song itself is upbeat and chilled and became an essential on my summer road trip playlist. The song has travelled with me to different countries this summer and as soon as it plays it brings a feel-good vibe to the room. The track is Yuno’s first single since signing with Sub Pop, signalling his arrival back into music. Despite being a song about losing someone you love and never being the same again, its upbeat, digital indie tune gets stuck in your head for hours and can’t help but make you bop.
Glad He’s Gone – Tove Lo (Thomas Davies)
‘Glad He’s Gone’ is a marked change of sound for Tove Lo. The Swedish singer-songwriter is best known for her cynical outlook on relationships and tongue-in-cheek lyricism on hits like ‘Habits (Stay High)’ and ‘Cool Girl’. Here she replaces the moody synths that dominated her earlier work with a floaty guitar melody, and sings about comforting a friend coming out of a bad relationship. Lyrics like ‘You and me under each other’s wing/We were free ’til he spoiled everything’ and ‘Wanna get over, get under’ are memorable and relatable, and show that you can tread new ground without losing what made you special to begin with.
Kim the Waitress – The Green Pajamas (Alex Mason)
One late night in August after hours of sifting through YouTube rarities, my dad and I discovered a hidden gem: The Green Pajamas. We couldn’t skip a name that fantastic and to make matters better, their songs are incredible! Kim The Waitress is an underappreciated anthem. It’s based on a fantasy about a girl working the graveyard shift in the local diner where the band would go after practicing. The cheeky lyricism and extremely catchy choruses make it impossible not to sing along to. One day I would love to know who exactly is this Kim the waitress and how can she possibly save us all?
Castles – Freya Ridings (Memoonah Hussain)
Londoner and Brit School graduate Freya Ridings latest single Castles comes after the globally successful Lost Without You. Both songs are breakup anthems but while Lost Without You was overwhelmingly poignant, Castles beautifully captures the next stage of a separation after the emotion invested in a significant relationship where one acknowledges the loss of a relationship but also the self-empowerment in moving own and finding strength from within yourself. With a rich voice akin to that of Florence Welch’s, the strong staccato beat facilitates the emotionally strong lyrics in capturing a women’s strength in rebuilding herself and recognising her own worth. Ridings is clearly one to keep an eye on.
Summer Friends – Chance the Rapper feat. Jeremih & Francis and the Lights (Danny Hodges)
This song is nearly four years old, yet it still sounds brand new. In my opinion, it is the best song from Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book mixtape. It is ageless. Summer Friends is a smooth track, from the lyrics to the beats. Chance has a softer voice on this track than others on the mixtape and it fits the vibe of the song. Jeremih’s finishing verse at the end ties the song up perfectly. The song was one for any occasion this summer, from sitting on the beach to a road trip.
Shine Girl – MoStack feat. Stormzy (Lucie Harrison)
Despite Mostack’s attempt to take centre stage with his new album ‘Stacko,’ the spotlight remains fixed on Stormzy who is featured in ‘Shine Girl.’ It’s hard to be centre of attention next to the most talked about British artist of the summer, Stormzy, as he becomes the first grime headliner of Glastonbury 2019. Mostack and Stormzy in ‘Shine Girl’ enhance each other’s comedic and energetic characters as they boast ‘all we do is f**k up the charts and drive G wagons’ as they climbed to number thirteen in the charts. Perhaps it wasn’t just the catchy chorus that gripped everyone’s attention- but the rare insight into Stormzy’s love life with music presenter Maya Jama, as they display a loved-up music video before their recent split at the end of summer. Whatever it was that had people rapping these catchy rhymes and dancing to the underlying Afrobeat sounds, this feel-good bop won’t just be for summer 2019.
Twist – Thom Yorke (Harry Johnson)
The complex mind of Thom Yorke has not failed to impress once again with the release of his latest album ‘ANIMA’ back in June. After much deliberation I eventually came to the conclusion that ‘Twist’ would be the track I would headline with. However, in reality, it would be wrong to discount a single song from the album. It is truly excellent from start to finish. On top of that, Yorke additionally released ‘ANIMA’ as a shorter visual album (featuring three tracks from the studio album and available on Netflix). If you’re looking for a unique, mind-bending audio-visual experience then you now know the answer.
Listen to our songs here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5JuZTDgLvdFAIFR52n5pCF?si=lw5HB7xNTWesDGEzj18TQA
