Every person’s summer has its own unique soundtrack, though it tends to come together nearly by accident.
I didn’t plan on listening to Kevin Abstract’s Blush on repeat, but the album practically forced itself into every part of my routine the second it dropped. Abstract has always been a genius when it comes to lyrical performance and unique tracks. This album kept to that trend.
Blush felt like a record I could bring with me everywhere, blasting it in the mornings when I needed some energy and sitting with it at night just because of its amazing verses. That balance is rare, and Blush ended up being one of those albums that shapes not just your playlists but your whole summer mood.
As soon as I had heard every song on Blush about 10 times over, Matt Champion’s Mika’s Laundry was the album I turned to. Even though it dropped back in March of last year, it ended up feeling like it was made for the summer of 2025.
“Dogfish” stole the whole album for me, and honestly, I would say it’s my official song of the summer. This song, and album as a whole, hit me so hard because it carried that summery mix of hazy guitar and laid-back drums that captures exactly how summer feels.
For me, it’s not truly summer unless I play Orca by Gus Dapperton. Some years the song “Bluebird” gets me, some years it’s “Grim,” but this time it was “First Aid” and “Post Humorous” that did the job. They’re the kind of songs that make you want to just sit in the sun and let the wind cool you down, but they’re also packed with an unexpected depth of emotion.
On a similar, yet surprising, note, Justin Bieber’s Swag found its way into my summer rotation. Nothing says “summer” quite like a Bieber record co-curated by some of my other favorites: Dijon, Daniel Caesar, and Mk.gee.
What made these songs stick was how unexpected they felt. The songs represent more than just a change in sound—rather, it seems as though he’s finally making music that feels true to who he is. And, of course, it carried the influence of those collaborators I love, using the same hazy guitars and laid-back drums that define most of my summer favorites.
When I wasn’t spiraling with Blush or screaming Bieber, The Japanese House’s In the End It Always Does carried me. Amber Bain makes music that simply sticks. It’s sad and euphoric at the same time, which is basically the definition of summer for me.
SiR’s Chasing Summer arrived so effortlessly that, for a while in June, I genuinely started wondering if it might be the album of the year. “Fire” in particular was a song that I couldn’t stop playing on repeat.
Dominic Fike also showed up, as he usually does when the warm months arrive. Every summer needs Dom, and this year I was listening to Rocket. Something about it just feels like driving near the ocean with the windows down. Rocket is simply summer distilled into 26 minutes. With “Great Pretender,” “Sandman,” and “David Lyons” on repeat, my summer rotation playlist was pretty complete.
For balance, I always go back to the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street, specifically “Torn and Frayed.” Sometimes when the new sounds become overwhelming you need something gritty and timeless to anchor you and make you feel like yourself again.
Venturing to the softer side, I couldn’t stop looping “Halfway Up” by The Brook & The Bluff. I swear I like the whole album, but for some reason that one track glued itself to my brain and refused to leave. “Beauty & Essex” by Free Nationals featuring Daniel Caesar and Unknown Mortal Orchestra rounded out my playlist with a quiet confidence—smooth and understated, yet impossible to ignore.
By the end of the summer, these albums and songs had snuck themselves into the soundtrack of my everyday life. Each one represented a different facet of the season: chaos, nostalgia, reflection, and energy. Together, they captured my summer of 2025.
