15 Tracks to get your summer all fired up

Image Sources: Dua Lipa | TDCC

Summer is in full swing and if you’re anything like us at TFGL HQ, this means making a playlist full of songs guaranteed to make you feel like you’re having the summer of your life (even if you’ve still got to remain 2 meters apart from some people). We’ve collated the songs into a playlist so you can enjoy our top picks too.

Here’s 15 tracks that Laurel, Issy & Tara have compiled for you to take your fangirl summer to the next level.

Watermelon Sugar: Harry Styles

The summer hit of 2020 that had everyone including your mum singing along too. We think if you had to bottle up summer in a sound for Laurel this would be it; “It’s the perfect song for driving at sunset, the windows down, wind blowing through your hair after spending the day soaking up the sunshine with friends” With a video that screams summer to go alongside this, how could we not include this “summer feeling” track on our list.

She Moves In Her Own Way: The Kooks

This classic indie pop song that was released in June 2006 makes into Laurel’s picks for reminding her of summer as a teenager. “I remember this being the song of the summer when I was 17. It’s always one of those songs that I can instantly perk up my mood makes me want to dance” 

Greek Tragedy – Oliver Nelson TikTok Remix: The Wombats, Oliver Nelson

Imagine sitting poolside at an Ibiza hotel, a cocktail in hand with this Wombats track playing as the sun beats down on you. “I’m all for a remixed track in the summer and this Wombats one is perfect chill out summer vibes. Someone get this girl to Ibiza ASAP!”

One Kiss: Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa

If there’s one man who knows how to make a summer banger it’s Calvin Harris, this song makes Laurel’s picks for a personal reason but even without that it definitely would be on numerous summer playlists. “I went to Vegas in 2018 to celebrate a big birthday of mine and we saw Calvin play this live at Wet Republic. This is a song that instantly takes me back to that whole summer and how epic it was. Not only for myself but I think the whole of the UK felt it was a summer to remember”

One More: SG Lewis & Nile Rogers

This is for all the girls that just want to stay out for one more drink (Laurel is definitely calling herself out with this pick) “I just love the subtle disco vibes that Nile Rogers brings to the track as well as for me it captures what summer is about when you’re young”

These Days: Wallows

LA based Wallows consists of Dylan Minnette, Cole Preston and Braeden Lemasters. These Days was released as part of their debut EP, Spring. Despite the EP title, Tara thinks it’s the perfect song for our summer playlist. “The song itself is just so easy to listen to and always gets stuck in my head. It makes me want to stroll around a park with an ice cream in hand, just being happy and content with life.”

Heat Waves: Glass Animals 

A song that has been doing the rounds on TikTok (200k + videos to be precise), but a great summer anthem no less. Glass Animals are all about the indie electro-pop tunes with singer Dave Bayley’s harmonic voice and quirky lyrics; including Tara’s fave line “Sometimes all I think about is you, late nights in the middle of June” – it’s just an all round relatable line mainly because it’s currently June. 

Sweet Disposition: The Temper Trap

This song is just the epitome of summer in all honesty. Tara says: “It takes me back to the Summer of 2008/2009, when life was easy and summer consisted of meeting up with school friends everyday.” 

What You Know: Two Door Cinema Club

Two Door Cinema Club are the kings of indie, having released their debut album back in 2010 and gaining fans ever since. Tara is a huge TDCC stan and is an advocate for their live shows. “I’ve seen them quite a few times now but in 2019 I saw them headline two festivals (oh the good old days) over the summer and both performances were so heartfelt and had me begging for more. This track in particular is just an all-round classic that will get everyone singing along to the chorus.” 

T-shirt Weather: Circa Waves

C’mon. The title alone SCREAMS pure summer vibes. Personally for Tara, no song epitomises the essence of summer more than T-shirt Weather. “This song firmly holds a place in every summer playlist I’ve ever made because it honestly just sums it up. Especially the lyrics and the upbeat indie pop melody; ‘I remember t-shirt weather, I remember some days we were singing out lungs out, in the backseat together, and the seatbelts were burning our fingers’” 

If You’re Too Shy: The 1975

Released in the Summer of 2020 and as the England emerged from its first and harshest lockdown, If You’re Too Shy became Issy’s summer anthem. “When we came out of lockdown, I’d just completed my degree, and the heatwave we’d been experiencing was still in full force. I spent countless days sat down on the beach with my friends, with If You’re Too Shy soundtracking my days consistently. And any song with a saxophone in it is a hit in my eyes.”

Everybody Wants To Rule The World: Tears for Fears

Issy says, “Anything from the eighties with synths and drum fills is a staple on my summer playlists!” Everybody Wants to Rule The World was first released in 1985, and followed Tears for Fears’ defining single Shout. Lyrically, the track is so ambiguous that its statements could be applied to almost any current affair present in the news, but the vibes and musicality? Far less topical – but absolutely immaculate.

Flawless: Beyonce feat. Nicki Minaj

Working towards hot girl summer? Get those female-empowering tunes on and blast them all day long! Beyonce’s 2014 hit is an accessible introduction to modern feminism, including a speech from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Whether its Crazy In Love, Single Ladies, Flawless or Formation, Beyonce had produced some incredible music that is guaranteed to get the party started. And Flawless? With Queen Nicki onboard too? Outstanding.

Confetti: Little Mix

The Little Mix ladies have turned out banger after banger, but Confetti feels like the beginnings of a new era. “As we all hope for the pandemic to come to a close, we look ahead to the future and the things we’d like to do. Confetti needs to be heard in the club, double vodka red bull in hand, with your girls all around you. Sassy and powerful, it’s the girl-boss vibe we all should be adopting as we get back onto our feet.”

Will We Talk: Sam Fender

Get us into a field with live music, luke-warm tinnies and the promise of a good time. This festival anthem radiates good vibes, and yearns for performance on a major festival stage. Sam Fender is part of the newer indie breed. The early half of the last decade brought us the likes of Catfish and The Bottlemen and Two Door Cinema Club, but as the decade drew to a close, we saw new artists come to the fore. Sam Fender is one of those, and Will We Talk is a song to don your bucket hat for.