Summer Jams To Blow Your Mind (& Your Speakers)

For anyone who loves music to the point of obsession, it's clear that you've got to have a soundtrack to everything. Every experience, every season has songs that define it and that, when heard months or even years down the line, will bring you right back to that original time when that track was your life and your life was full of whatever was going on when you first heard it. Summer is one of the best times for music, not only because some serious bops come out during the warmer weather, but because summer is, by definition, a season of carefree fun, of long, lazy days lying in the sun at the beach, having fun with your friends without a single thought given to the cold and snowy winters that will shortly return. But what exactly makes a summer jam, and how can we ensure that none get left behind?

To me, a summer jam is anything with that low-lying, groovy feel to it. The BPM doesn't matter, but it's a certain je ne sais quoi that brings a track into summer jam territory, and it's not something that can be put into words. Luckily, it's something you can know just by listening to it and feeling it — really feeling it — and letting it wash over you like the ocean waves on a hot August day. You're in the mindset now, right? Now you just need to listen to these underrated gems and enjoy.

Alessia Cara, "Here"

This 18-year-old Canadian started out doing YouTube covers from the age of 13 until she was eventually (and inevitably) signed to Def Jam. Now, as she prepares to release her debut album, "Here" is hitting the airwaves and oh man, is it brilliant. I don't say this lightly, but this might be my favorite song of the entire summer. It's so good (and makes for great makeout music, too).

Jess Glynne, "Don't Be So Hard On Yourself"

Jess Glynne is a hit-making machine, for sure, but her latest single (in the UK, at least), "Don't Be So Hard On Yourself" is the most uplifting, positive anthem yet, and it just makes you want to rave all night and bask in the joy of life. (Too much? Oh well!)

Drake, "Hotline Bling"

I was almost going to put "Hold On, We're Going Home" on this list, but it's not particularly underrated and it's also old, so we'll go with "Hotline Bling", which is a hot track and also meets all summer jam criteria. There's basically nothing Drake will ever do that I won't put on some jam playlist or other, and this is no exception.

Carly Rae Jepsen, "Run Away With Me"

Admittedly, I was a bit slow getting on the CRJ train, but now that I'm on it, I'm seriously "ALL ABOARD!" 24/7, as little sense as that makes. I loved "I Really Like You", and the new single, "Run Away With Me", is almost better, if that's even possible. It seriously makes me swoon with summer goodness, and that's all you can ask of a song, isn't it?

Calvin Harris feat. Disciples, "How Deep Is Your Love"

BBC Radio 1 in the UK has been playing this track nonstop, so it's constantly stuck in my head — but I totally don't mind, since it's so damn good. It's got that classic club feel that all of Calvin's tracks do, but also the vocal chops of Disciples, and the music and vocals just come together like an absolute dream.

Martin Solveig & GTA, "Intoxicated"

This is one of those songs you'll want to be driving around your car in late at night, the hot summer night wind blowing in your hair as you blast this from the speakers. I'm not going to even say anything else about it, I'll just leave you with that visual, and I'm sure that'll be enough.

Disclosure feat. Sam Smith, "Omen"

Disclosure and Sam Smith go together like peanut butter and jelly. I was obsessed with "Latch", the single which launched Sam Smith into the public eye, and I love "Omen" just as much, I think. Definitely worthy of the summer jam title.

Image: CarlyRaeJepsenVevo/YouTube