It’s What We’re Listening to Wednesday and It’s officially the heart of summer. The sun’s relentless, the streets are sticky, and everything moves just a little slower. This week’s playlist embraces the heat not with dancefloor anthems, but with a deeper kind of burn. These songs smolder, unravel, and linger, each one a soundtrack for the slow, surreal days of July.
My Selects
Track One – “Lark” – Angel Olsen
“Lark” is pure emotional combustion. It opens as a whisper, all tremble and restraint, then erupts into something orchestral and primal. The build here is so patient, and when it hits, it hits. Angel Olsen turns heartbreak into something almost mythic, messy, grand, and unforgettable.
Track Two – “Dern Kala” – Khruangbin
No one does atmospheric groove quite like Khruangbin. “Dern Kala” is psychedelic without being showy, letting its funk-infused bassline and clean, looping guitar riffs cast a spell. It’s the kind of song that makes you feel like you’re floating — or maybe melting — in the best possible way.
Track Three – “a good man with a broken heart” – LoVibe
LoVibe knows how to sit in stillness. This track is all muted hues and quiet ache, a lo-fi slow jam that plays like a conversation you never finished. The sparse production leaves room for every beat to breathe, and the softness feels like both a confession and a comfort.
Nathan’s Selects
Track Four – “Everything” – Durand Jones & The Indications
A velvet-smooth love song straight from a different era. This one’s full of rich harmonies, tender falsetto, and vintage soul charm. It burns slowly in the best way, not because it holds back, but because it knows how to savor every feeling.
Track Five – “Dream Machine” – Purple Disco Machine
Funky, glossy, and dripping with disco nostalgia. “Dream Machine” brings a shimmer to this week’s more shadowy tones, like a disco ball spinning slowly in a dark room. Even when it picks up the pace, it still feels laid back — confident, cool, and in no rush to prove anything.
Track Six – “Lipstick On the Glass” – Wolf Alice
Wolf Alice balances grit and elegance like nobody else. This track swirls in layers, echoing guitars, whispered vocals, and a chorus that unfolds slowly but powerfully. It’s dreamy, a little eerie, and completely hypnotic. There’s nothing like listening to a Wolf Alice track on a loooong and sloooow walk.
Laneisha’s Selects
Track Seven – “Gravedust” – Kaali
Kaali dives into darker territory here. “Gravedust” feels intimate and otherworldly, like a memory being exhumed. The production is minimal but tactile — industrial edges softened by ambient haze. It’s beautifully unsettling.
Track Eight – “Veinline” – Kaali
Brooding and pulsing, “Veinline” pulls you under. The bass feels like a heartbeat, the synths like static in your bones. It’s emotional in a way that’s hard to name, more feeling than structure, more sensation than sound.
Track Nine – “Liminal” – Kaali
As the name suggests, “Liminal” exists in between. It’s the sonic version of a threshold; eerie, cinematic, and full of tension. Kaali’s trio of tracks this week feel like a short film in three acts: delicate, haunting, and deeply immersive.
Until Next Week…
This week’s playlist isn’t here to hype you up, it’s here to sink in, like the sun on your skin or the sweat on your neck. Let the songs take their time. You’ve got time, too. Get listening!
