With exciting album releases from Olivia Rodrigo and Ariana Grande slated for the summer, there’s no doubt we’ll have a handful of pop earworms to keep on loop in the coming months. Still, the best summer playlists always include a selection of eccentric, underground hits or forgotten tracks from our favorites to impress your friends while on aux. To remain pretentiously ahead of the listeners who resort to Spotify’s all too ordinary Hot Hits playlist, consider these artisanal picks below.

‘Supermodel’ by Laundry Day

I’ve always thought that Laundry Day’s bright pop songs belong in a teen coming-of-age movie, and “Supermodel” is no different. From the band’s aptly named 2025 album, “Earworm,” the track uses simple, catchy lyrics to complement a fictionalized love interest: “It feels like I hit the lotto / When she wakes up right beside me / It feels like there’s no tomorrow.” The song’s bouncy bass lines and autotuned harmonies capture how it feels to be smitten under the summer sun, which is perfect to listen to before going out to the bars and running into every awkward summer intern program participant in New York City. 

— Dani Biondi, Arts Editor

‘People Settle Down’ by Way Dynamic

Way Dynamic just missed the cut-off for song-of-the-summer last year when he released his third studio album, “Massive Shoe,” in late August. The opening track, “People Settle Down,” quite literally sounds like joy in a bottle. Accompanied by wind instruments, upbeat drums and sunny background vocals, Dynamic sings about the excitement that comes with moving in with a partner: “I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again / I wanna be your best friend.” The jazzy folk-pop song may not fit the typical song-of-the-summer mold — being from a smaller artist without explosive production — but the bliss of listening to Dynamic’s breezy vocals and cheery instrumentation is unlike any other.

— Skylar Boilard, Arts Editor

‘B.O.A.T.’ by Camila Cabello

During the summer of 2024, the general public finally embraced Charli xcx’s experimental dance-pop music, crowning the era “Brat summer.” But when Camila Cabello’s similarly adventurous album, “C,XOXO,” was released three weeks later, it was left in the dust and subjected to frequent, vapid comparisons to “Brat,” even with its original exploration of Miami nightlife and moody summer nights. The album’s 12th track, “B.O.A.T.,” is the quintessential song for the quiet loneliness of a late drive home after a night out. Fusing electronic and R&B production, the intimate ballad reflects on a failed relationship: “I wish you’d say / You were right / That I want you when you’re not mine.” The song includes a clever, unexpected sample of Pitbull’s “Hotel Room Service,” perfecting the already melancholic song with a gritty layer of 2000s nostalgia.

— Amelia Knust, Music Editor

‘Lucky Strike’ by Maroon 5

“Lucky Strike” demands to be heard with max volume and windows down, preferably while speeding down your hometown’s familiar backroads. With its infectious, danceable energy, the track stands out as an underrated highlight of Maroon 5’s 2012 album “Overexposed.” The lyrics pulse with a raw attraction that should have long cemented its status as a permanent night club staple. The bridge offers striking intimacy with the tempo slowing down as Adam Levine sings “You’re taking all my pain away / You’re shaking like an earthquake.” The entire track feels like chasing a sunset, a fleeting, vibrant rush of life. 

— Rhea Kohli, Fine Arts Editor

‘Strawberry Swing’ by Frank Ocean

Frank Ocean’s unreleased “Strawberry Swing,” a revamped cover of Coldplay’s original track, contains the apocalyptic, existential dread that the chaos of summer often elicits. It’s the eighth track of his notoriously unshelved mixtape “nostalgia, Ultra” — only four songs are currently accessible on Spotify after The Eagles threatened to sue for song theft. The song is made up of a thumping, guitar-driven beat and vibrant echoing, revealing final moments between two lovers as their world succumbs to war: “Spaceships are lifting off / Of a dying world / And millions are left behind / While the sky burns / There wasn’t room for you and I / Only you, goodbye.” The song fades out as the exhilarating pounding of the drums is overpowered by the headache-inducing ring of an alarm. It was all a dream.

— Emily Colette Love, Contributing Writer

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