Late summer calls for the kind of music that makes you want to lie down in the middle of an open sunlit field and close your eyes while listening—it's just that good.
Below are a few suggestions to get your chill groove on, along with my favorite track off of each album.
1. "The Life of Pablo" by Kanye West (2016)
For many, listening to Kanye evokes a "love it or hate it" internal conflict: You either love his twisted, raunchy, sample-heavy sound or hate his brash lyrics and egotistic demeanor (both on and off the music record).
But three years following the release of "The Life Of Pablo", and both old and new listeners have found a greater appreciation and solace in his music, noting him to be a genius, if not a slightly crazy one.
See, Kanye has this unique ability to cultivate songs that sound far ahead of his time and thus may not align with the industry's current trending sound; over time, however, his songs become more and more fitting as music evolves.
"The Life Of Pablo" ages like fine wine and those subtle notes of cherry make listening to it in 2019 all the more fruitful.
2. "Melodrama" by Lorde (2017)
Not to be (melo)dramatic or anything, but I'd just like to note that "Melodrama" should've deserved more proper recognition than it did its release year.
Lorde is an old soul trapped in a young body, and her somber lyrics and ethereal sound throughout the album reflect her frustration about the woes of growth and growing up (as compared to her previous and debut 2012 album "Heroine", which explores the art of teenage angst).
Lorde's alluring prowess throughout her songs is what has always attracted listeners, but perhaps, in the end, she's still just as misunderstood as the rest of us young adults growing up in this century. And that's totally okay.
3. "Blond" by Frank Ocean (2016)
If you're searching for the definition of "chill music", Frank Ocean's "Blond" is it.
It's refreshing to listen to an overdone topic—unrequited love, or the complexities and lopsidedness of it—enveloped in a unique sound.
There's a word that always comes to mind whenever I describe Frank's music: "sehnsucht." Its direct translation is "being nostalgic for a far-away home you've never visited," but I feel this word is the only expression that provides the best descriptor of this album.
To be sehnsucht for "Blond" is to be nostalgic for its dreamy sound you've never heard until the album's first notes drop.
