Five albums for your summer socials
Alexander Poirier has the beats sorted for your post-lockdown festivities.
Lockdown is over, we can go out again, semester is wrapping up and now what?... We've been home for so long it’s easy to forget what exactly we did when our days weren’t filled with lectures, zoom tutes and essays (or sleeping through them all). As a way to help spark some inspiration or memories of the ancient times known as “pre-lockdown”, I’ve used music’s incredibly strong link to memory and collated a list of albums to be paired with five crucial social events you must do this summer.
Beach trips: 1989 - Taylor Swift
Now, as my friend Tom has informed me, no album list would be complete without Taylor, so I think it suitable that she should be first. Being from Penrith, I’ve not had a single chance to go to the beach during lockdown, so I know it’s one of the top things on my list to do this summer.
With powerful synth, Taylor’s dreamy voice and pounding drums, this album is full of the energy that comes with running into the white waves, soaking up rays and getting sand absolutely everywhere. Certified bops like Shake It Off and Blank Space bring you back to a simpler time of teenage-innocence where silly crushes and going to the plaza after school were our biggest concerns.
Campo nights: Travel Without Moving - Jamiroquai
We all know the vibes: the grass is green, the sun is setting, everyone’s probably a tad too tipsy, and there’s dogs *everywhere*. Travel Without Moving is the perfect album for when it gets dark and you’re chatting with whoever about whatever against the backdrop of the graffitied graveyard wall before someone asks, “Marly?”
This funk/acid jazz album fuses together elements from 80’s disco, Brazilian bossa nova, Romantic piano trios and so much more to create a simply ethereal experience. From the dance-ready Cosmic Girl (my personal favourite), to the much more chill Spend a Lifetime, this album suits all the stages of a night in Camperdown Memorial Rest Park.
Sunset drives: Down the Way - Angus and Julia Stone
I don’t know what it is about long car rides with no purpose, but they just seem to be the perfect environment for quality DNMs. Maybe it’s the feelings of seclusion, just you and your mate being forced to speak at the road and not look at each other, slightly tired due to the hour of night. My best friend showed me this album in one of those exact moments, sitting in his driveway, wayyy past midnight when I probably needed to start the drive home, but the chats just seem to flow on forever.
Real vocal timbres, repetitive minimalist guitar and piano and emotional strings are the perfect combination for creating just the right environment to expose our vulnerabilities to each other. The music offers a protection and a comfort in its simplicity, subtly filling the silence, where the main focus is upon our experiences and conversations.
Garden picnics: Recomposed - Max Richter
The lockdown picnic may have come and gone, but I think during this time we all found a new appreciation for just how splendid it can be to sit amongst friends with cheese and crackers and a bevvy in hand. Being a student at the Con, I’m blessed to have the Botanic Gardens and it's harbour views right next door to where I study, but you don’t have to travel all the way to the harbour to enjoy this album (though it certainly is a very pleasant experience).
Being a classical album, this one is a tad different from the others, but Richter's use of harmonies and instrumental timbres to create emotion are just so splendid and suitable for a picnic. As you can guess from the title, it’s a recomposition of the Italian Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi’s famous Le quattro stagioni, known in English as The Four Seasons. This album opens with bird songs and hints of the "Spring" melody, before segueing directly into a familiar yet contemporary twelve pieces for bowed strings and harpsichord.
Backyard drinks: A Beginner’s Mind - Sufjan Stevens
A Beginner's Mind - Album by Sufjan Stevens, Angelo De Augustine | Spotify
If you've watched Call Me By Your Name, you'll be very familiar with the sounds and feelings of this album. Summertime fruit, wine in the yard, cheerful jokes and laughs, all sharing stories around the table: these are the moments I think we've missed most.
Steven's breathy falsetto voice and broken chords are paired with more nostalgic rock sounds and are a great accompaniment to any gatherings you might host, lightly and happily filling the space, but never overpowering the conversation.
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I hope that from reading this you’ve found some inspiration for social events throughout the summer break or at least that this has given you a chance to explore some new albums and types of music whilst reflecting nostalgically on good memories. So with all that, good luck to everyone with your exams, don’t overload yourself with work or social commitments, keep doing all the wellbeing things and hopefully see you all in the new year!