A Few Road Summer Records You Should Check Out

Volume 7 | July 2025: Sam & I chase the sun.

Good morning!

Today Sam Colt and I are each sharing a few of our favorite summer records…or at least ones that we’ve fallen in love with this summer.

Welcome to the seventh installment of our (not so) new series! For those of you who may have missed previous editions, here’s a bit of context:

In this monthly series, Sam Colt and I will each share our picks for artists and/or titles that haven't received their due. You'll recognize Sam's name from our On Repeat and Friends Best of Series, and also our Top 100 of all-time series last fall. These posts will adopt the latter's format; I will make my case for my three picks and my reaction to Sam's. Sam's page will do the reverse.

In the inaugural post, we noted that successive editions would narrow things down slightly. Maybe a specific genre…maybe a specific era…maybe a specific…well, who knows!

Summer’s here, and the livin’ is easy. Well, sort of. The weather’s awesome, but it’s still 2025, and the the world is filled with whatever this is (waves hands at everything). In a lot of ways, 2025 is not putting in its best work. Music’s not one of those areas, though; it feels like this has been a banner year for the sounds we all hold so dear. Maybe because of - or despite— everything else? I dunno.

Not all of these records are from this year, but some are. All are either the perfect summer vibe, or ones that Sam & I have recently gotten into. As you’ll see below, that last modifier came in handy.

And what’s better than a (musical) summer fling?

When you're done here, remember to check out Sam’s take at This Is a Newsletter!

Let's get to it!

KA—

Gelli Haha- Switcheroo

Where do I start with a record described by a fan as “...like Kate Bush meets Suburban Lawns, and it is pretty good!“? Switcheroo is what happens when an artist starts out making folk music, moves to LA, connects with a producer, and makes the pivot of a lifetime. Along the way, Angel Abaya ditched her legal name, adopted the Gelli Haha persona, and proceeded to make one of the most unhinged records of 2025.

Built from roughly 45 1-minute snippets of tracks, the album is bouncy synth pop, dance music, and a modern take on the quirkiness The B-52s previously mastered. They might’ve been hallucinating Pluto, but on this record, Pluto Is Not A Planet, It’s a Diner.

And it’s one of the most infectious tracks you’ll hear this week.

Switcheroo is ecstatic. It’s aspirational and absurd in equal measure. It’s awesome. In other words, it’s perfect for summer. Speaking to Abaya recently I asked how this project came into being. Her answer?

“Gelli Haha is a project born through curiosity. I wanted to create something that was fun and moved people physically and emotionally. Fun music to dance to, something mystical, and enchanting and silly.”

Mission accomplished.

Sam’s pick and my take: Magdalena Bay- Imaginal Disk

Yes! I loved this record, and figured this would be the easiest of his three picks to talk about. But writing without fanboying is always harder than I think it’s going to be, so bear with me as I try and maintain a shred of objectivity.

I guess talking about sequencing is as good (read: boring) a place as any to start, and this record more than anything feels like one long continuous wave. Any good mix knows just when to slow down and the right time to speed back up, and this is a 400-level course in pacing.

Mostly, though, a summer record should make you feel good. It should be uplifting without being saccharine. I could try and wring some words about technical prowess, or how this takes what made Mercurial World good and builds on it, but mostly I want to tell you that this is a record that will make you feel better for having listened to it. For electronic music, it sure feels human—and almost…joyous? And lord knows, in 2025, we need to take joy where we can get it.

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Preoccupations- Ill at Ease

When we first decided what this month’s theme would be, we carved out the “or records you recently discovered” modifier. And with good reason! Ill at Ease is certainly not something you’ll be blasting on your boat as you and the crew knock back tall boys. It’s icy in spots and apocalyptic in others. One song mentions centrifuges. Does Van Halen sing about centrifuges? Dear reader, they do not.

Oh, and it will sometimes make you want to dance (probably on land).

When Women broke up in 2012, the Flegel brothers went their separate (musical) ways. Patrick morphed into Cindy Lee, whose Diamond Jubilee record was on just about every AOTY there is last year. Matt and bandmate Mike Wallace went on to form the core of Viet Cong. That name was thankfully changed for a whole hosts of obvious reasons, and Preoccupations came to be.

Ill at Ease is the band’s fifth record, and arguably their most accessible. It’s a post-punk record, but it’s as pop as anything Psychedelic Furs or The Sound ever put out. On a more contemporary note, I kept drawing a line to The Helio Sequence. For absolutely no reason at all, the record’s “Andromeda” reminds me of “Keep Your Eyes Ahead.” While I’m at it, Flegel’s almost raspy vocals will evoke comparison to The Fur’s Richard Butler’s.

None of this is derogatory. In fact, it’s all in the plus column for me. There has been some chatter that this record is too pat, too polished compared to their previous releases. I am not in that camp. Sure, there are a points where I miss that earlier volatility, but I like my post-punk dance-y, and this delivers for days. “Andromeda” is a front runner for my fave track of the year (yes, I know it’s only July), and several others make a good case for being shortlisted as well. Get in, we’re listening to the soundtrack to the apocalypse.

Sam’s pick and my take: Etran de L'air - Agadez

Working Saturdays at the airport can be boring. Many carriers pare their schedule down, and there a longer than normal blocks between any kind of activity. In other words, it’s the perfect time to read, go for a walk, or just check out. And if you can do so with a record like Agadez, that’s all the better.

This vein of world music is an almost total blindspot for me. Any time I hear it, I swear i’ll get more into it, only to then get distracted by whatever shiny object the internet serves up next. Maybe this’ll break the streak. In the meantime, the vocal stylings are catchy. I have no idea what language their speaking, nor do I know what they’re singing about. I’m referring to the cadence here. The music is equally hypnotic and became the score to one helluva mid-shift daydream. The best thing I can say about this record is that I was so far into it that it was a jolt when it ended. Being kicked back into reality was jarring. I don’t know how this landed on Sam’s radar, but I’m sure glad it did.

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Old Moon- Around Again

I wish I could remember who first tipped me off to Old Moon; I owe them a debt of gratitude. The band’s records are consistently some of my favorites. I’m not sure there’s been an even mediocre track in the lot? I should note that Old Moon is really the brainchild of Vermont’s Tom Weir, who plays all the instruments and writes all the tracks.

Around Again is made up of tracks Weir resurfaced from 2018, but they don’t feel stale or rehashed. He might be from New England, but the vibe I consistently get from listening to the LP is one of wide open spaces and skies that go on forever. It’s heavy in some spots and lighter in others, each at just the right time. “Rush” has a languid groove that moves fast enough not to trip over its own feet.

“Arrival of Spring” has a jangly riff guaranteed to get stuck in your head.

In 2022, his Under All Skies was one of my top EPs of the year. At the time I described it as a record that “…will take you back to the era before terms like alternative and indie existed when it was all bundled under the “college radio” umbrella. The EP has elements from all corners of those days in it. There are some post-punk Wire moments, jangle, and some roots rock. All in all, Old Moon just might be your new favorite college band.”

If that sounds like something you’re into, I have some good news.

Sam’s pick and my take: Willie Colon- Siembra

I don’t care what Dril says; you do, in fact, have to hand it to Sam. He never (and I mean never) fails to surprise me. Did I see this 1978 Willie Colon/Ruben Blades record coming? I absolutely did not. Had I ever heard it? Nope. But man, this is infectious from the first note. The lyrics might be speaking about heavier things, but the sound is all swaying palm trees, gentle breezes, and tasty waves. It’s a reminder to push through; there are better days on the other side of whatever all of this is. I’ll take all of that ya got. Saving it now so I can lean on it during the dark days of winter.

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That’s a wrap! What are your thoughts on these records? Do you own any of them? Share your thoughts in the comments! Rants, raves, and spicy takes are all welcome. And if you have any ideas on future themes, please share those as well! Don’t forget to check out Sam’s thoughts over at This Is a Newsletter!

Thanks for being here,

Kevin—

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Credit: Beth Spencer