And like that, another half year is over. But it’s been a joyous one, musically at least – right up to and including June. Some early shouts for Song of the Summer have come from all corners, including worldwide sensations, indie starlets and nightclub legends. We’ve collected some of them and a bunch of leftfield options too.
Fill your heads with the early sounds of summer (for you Northern Hemisphere types).
Below is the track list and some notes from our team about why they’ve selected them for this month’s playlist.
Beth Orton – “Cigarette Curls”
World weary wisdom via decidedly earthen music from one of the masters of our lifetime. Let this one gradually build and encircle you. I want to live within these songs. I intend to. – Chase McMullen
Brandon Flowers – “Plans”
It’s not surprising to hear Brandon Flowers dive fully into a country template. Much of his previous work, solo and with The Killers, is rooted in the Americana canon, Flowers’ lyrics frequently addressing tensions related to living in and wanting to escape small-town life. With his new single, “Plans” (from his upcoming album, Thrasher, out August 21), Flowers embraces twangy guitars and a twangy harmonica. He blends his baritone drawl with a Broadway cadence, recalling “America”-era Neil Diamond. The background/supporting vocals are an elegant touch. Using classic Romantic/Springsteenian imagery (“Gonna drive tonight / Gonna roll the windows down / Let the wind wash over me”, “So hold me in your arms / I think I’m going under”), Flowers offers an eloquent take on how quickly time passes, how plans change or simply don’t come to fruition, and how, ultimately, we have to connect with reality, our triumphs and disappointments, making the best of what time we have left. – John Amen
Chat Pile – Deep Blue
On the first harbinger of their upcoming album, Chat Pile return to their favorite image of societal imbalance: the mask! Vocalist Raygun seems obsessed with the symbol’s implications – from polite demeanor allowing camouflage of toxicity, to the embodiment of inner turmoil in the slasher film killer context. On “Deep Blue”, a bluesy dirge that is aided by an incredible music video, the mask exists within the context of suffocating work environments: “Break my face and call me your friend / And tell me one more million lies / And keep my world in a tailspin / Feed me candy when I’m good and comply”. Contrasting the cosmic and spiritual explorations of In the Earth Again, “Deep Blue” investigates the degenerative qualities of contemporary society to the human mind. Considering their choice of barren landscapes and run down buildings with each subsequent cover, it can be argued that this isn’t just about individualism, but a larger dissolution of the American landscape into nightmare. It begs the question: is there any group that is more key to the corrosive aspects of the Trump era? – John Wohlmacher
Emma Ruth Rundle – “Powerless”
With her new single, “Powerless” (from These Killing Times, out September 18), Emma Ruth Rundle returns to a full-band orientation, demonstrating her knack for sonic range à la earlier work, including 2018’s On Dark Horses and her 2020 collaboration with Thou, May Our Chambers Be Full. The piece opens with piano and voice, establishing the theme of contemporary corruption (“Power corrupting, you had my trust / Empire collapsing, everything dust”). Soon, crunchy guitars erupt into the mix, Rundle’s voice soaring. The piece continues to unfurl as a blend of folk, classical, shoegaze-y, and metal references, Rundle stoking the song into an anthem re: the elusiveness of power, how even our heroes often disappoint us. As the song approaches conclusion, Rundle moans, teeth gritted, “Let me die here with a hammer in my hand / One for smashing one for making something better”. Destruction and regeneration. Revolution and reformation. Following a shamanic grunge-sprawl, the piece unspools into starkness, ending with a mechanistic hum that conjures the “Om” of the cosmos – run through an overdrive filter. – John Amen
Evanescence – “Afterlife”
Should I be embarrassed picking an Evanescence song in the year of our lord 2026? Possibly, but I’m not ashamed. As a guy who was 13 going on 14 when Fallen hit, yeah, it spoke to little angsty me. I all but wore that CD out worshipping Amy Lee’s powerhouse of a voice. Three short years later I was properly in my music snob era and, more simply, The Open Door just didn’t hit the same, and I kind of checked out. What a lovely surprise, then, to have the bizarrely perfect nostalgia salvo of a Friday in ’26 with new releases from Modest Mouse, Death Cab, of Montreal, and Evanescence. (Seriously, once more: what the fuck? How?) More surprisingly still, (for those willing to partake with an open mind) Sanctuary is… actually pretty damn good? Count your blood-stained blessings. – Chase McMullen
Gold Panda – “Ding the Motor”
Let the groove get in. – Chase McMullen
Julia Jacklin – “Get Away From Me (I Think I’ll Love You Soon)”
Julia Jacklin, our patron saint of turbulent attraction, is returning with a new album this autumn and as an introductory salvo she has released this straightforwardly enjoyable little rocker. The title says it all really; this is an in-out, in-out shake it all about sock hop of a track that’s an easy win for someone wielding the kind of talent that Jacklin does. – Rob Hakimian
L’Rain – “soulless cycle”
From the forthcoming album fata morgana (Mexican Summer; August 14), “soulless cycle” inflicts damage on a nursery-rhyme-style melody like Thurston Moore with a guitar, drum stick, and no plan. Arranged like a carnival carousel from the inferno, the “cycle” is more like a domino collision on the spiraling exit ramp of a parking-deck. When the song opens, Taja Cheek is singing about being tired of being so tired and to amuse herself she crashes into the walls and watches the scaffolding collapse. – Steve Forstneger
Olivia Rodrigo – “Maggots for Brains”
While I had absolutely nothing against her – she seemed charming, “a good kid” – it took you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love to have me hop on the bandwagon. Choosing a track is a tough call. Needless to say, the Robert Smith collab soars. “Purple” is both my favorite color (points, duh) and a lovely song. However, I’ll go with “Maggots for Brains” as it was the first track on the album (having liked the prior two!) the made me go, “Oh, oh yeah, I fuck with this.” – Chase McMullen
Olivia Rodrigo – “begged”
Liv’s third album gets better with each spin, as this somewhat hidden highlight proves. A ruminative ballad, “begged” has shades of Jeff Buckley’s writing aesthetics and Laura Marling’s poetic intimacy, as Liv expands on her insecurities and channels heartbreaking words: “Is that a normal thing to fight back the waves / Of a static lover’s dread?”
It’s a bitter and harrowing concept – if somebody else becomes all our life, then how do we approach the absence of their compassion? If we are content with the smallest things, how long can we accept nothingness until we must resort to the pain of pleading? All intuitive Pisces, Liv senses that this love story is over long before its end. – John Wohlmacher
Ray Finlayson [7:46 PM]
Phoebe Bridgers – “Lost Boys”
Fans have waited for what seems like a lifetime for Phoebe Bridgers to officially mark her return. The prospect of a new (16 track!) album coming out in August is enough to make the wait worth it, and new single “Lost Boys” is an excitable and infectious track to whet the appetite. Boasting some five other songwriter credits (including Alex G, Bo Burnham, and Caroline Shaw) and production credits from Jack Antonoff, there’s plenty of indie star power behind the song – so much it seems like it couldn’t possible fail. And it doesn’t: boasting a chorus that quickly sticks in your head, uplifting Sufjan-esque horns, a line that will have a resonant ache for just about anyone (“This machine is killing me”) and a video that has Bridgers in full Zelda apparel, “Lost Boys” has bucketloads going for it. It’s already easy to envisage that shouted count-in before the final chorus rallying an entire arena of fans. It’s just the start though; the count in for for the rest still to come. – Ray Finlayson
Shannon Lay – “Horizons”
I’m not sure there’s anyone who could make sitting around sound so cosmic. Shannon Lay has always dwelled in the overlap between contemplation and hallucination and with “Horizons” she once agin floats between plains. “They need you down here” she gently intones as subtle synths crawl around the background like extra sensory perception and piano plinks like a beloved instrument in a family’s living room. Ultimately, this is a song about feeling, and also happens to be one that effortlessly makes you feel. – Rob Hakimian
Skrillex – “Thistle” (feat. Randomer, Blawan, MC Dricka)
Released in June on Skrillex’s SOMA, “Thistle” morphs from Amazonian percussion into a dub-influenced recreation of Miami bass. It moves around like a blurred cousin of 2step and Radiohead’s “Idioteque”, dedicated to keep popping. This ad-hoc quartet manages to keep Skrillex from littering the track with his usual digital clutter, and as a result it’s the album standout. MC Dricka is the song’s link to São Paulo funk; her hair and sound might be the thistle in the title. – Steve Forstneger
Listen to our BPM Curates: June 2026 playlist here.
