This year, I finally gave in and admitted that a girl cannot subsist on Billy Joel alone. So I’ve spent the last few weeks scoping out some new music, and along the way I uncovered a vibe too groovy not to share.
Do you have a moment to hear the gospel of Dreampop Surf Vibes?
That’s the name I made up, so don’t worry if that sounds totally incomprehensible to you. I’d describe it like this: dreamy synth-pop that makes you feel like you’re at a beach party, but a weird tense beach party where someone walks into the ocean at the end of the night and everyone else is strangely at peace with it.
This sound is my New Aesthetic™, so I’ve compiled a Personal Top 10 of the Genre to share with you. These are presented in no particular order, but shoutout to the band Her’s for making the list three times.
Click the song name to give it a listen!
Ether (Sick at Heart) by field trip
My favorite thing about this song:
The way the vocals and synth effects blend together.
Favorite Lyric:
I know it’s hard to not just go insane / Sick at heart
Teenage Blue by Dreamgirl
My favorite thing about this song:
The soft, indistinct vocals that really put the “dream” in dreampop.
Favorite Lyric:
All that I’d ever see / All that I’d ever believe is through
All that I’d ever see / All that I’d ever believe is blue
Blue Lips by Her’s
My favorite thing about this song:
That damn funky bassline.
Favorite Lyric:
She likes to think of you / As somebody else
Now, don’t be oh-so-sure / That you know what’s next
80’s High School by CASTLEBEAT
My favorite thing about this song:
The high school imagery is an instant nostalgia trip.
Favorite Lyric:
Think it out you’ll be fine / Take a minute to rewind
All the noise in your mind / 80s high school all the time
Out Like a Light by The Honeysticks
My favorite thing about this song:
The musical crescendos going into the first and final choruses.
Favorite Lyric:
You never leave / You never leave
You never leave / You leave me uptight
When I’m With You by Best Coast
My favorite thing about this song:
SURF. VIBES.
Favorite Lyric:
Ever since I was a little girl / My mama always told me there’d be boys like you
Harvey by Her’s
My favorite thing about this song:
It’s a reference to Harvey- you know, the giant invisible rabbit? Hell yes.
Favorite Lyric:
Harvey/ Nobody knows what I see
Everyone thinks I’m crazy / Crazy for you, oh boy
She Needs Him by Her’s
My favorite thing about this song:
This song is the best of both worlds between 80s nostalgia, and the 50s nostalgia of the 80s.
Favorite Lyric:
My heart takes up all my strength/ No more can I think of them
No more can I hold her in my thoughts / Don’t say that she needs him
Sensitivity by Worn-Tin
My favorite thing about this song:
The handclaps. Those are so underutilized in modern pop.
Favorite Lyric:
Show me hospitality / Sorry for the fantasy
I just want to know you for a long long time
So Sad, So Sad by Varsity
My favorite thing about this song:
That drumbeat just syncs right up with my heart.
Favorite Lyric:
Trying to be a perfect circle / Weak just like I take my drinks
That Type of Girl 