Summer 2025 music recap!

I’ve been putting off my summer music recap. I recently moved to Nashville and up until two weeks ago, it felt like summer here. Now it feels like winter. Because of course.

The album cover for Virgin by Lorde

This summer kicked off splendidly, with the release of Lorde’s fourth studio album, Virgin. I got hooked on “Shapeshifter”, an avoidant attachment anthem. I also love “Broken Glass” and “David”. “Favorite Daughter” has a catchiness I haven’t heard since the 2010s. “Current Affairs” took a moment to grow on me, but once I moved out, it hit too hard – “Mama, I’m so scared… I’m crying on the phone, swearing nothing’s wrong”.  

Man’s Best Friend by Sabrina Carpenter is impeccable. My favorite song is “Goodbye” – very satisfying to scream. “Nobody’s Son” makes me ache. “Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry” is the most sonically depressing man-eater song I’ve ever heard, opening with, “You think that I’m gonna f*** with your head? Well, you’re absolutely right”. “Go Go Juice” is a fun upbeat country track where Carpenter sings as if she’s drunk. “My Man on Willpower” is a bop. “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night” and “Never Getting Laid” are sister songs in my head – both are about mixed feelings toward someone valuable, the first from before the relationship ends, and the second from after.

Audrey Hobert’s Who’s the Clown? album was spectacular. “Sue Me”, the lead single, remains my favorite. “Wet Hair” and “Thirst Trap” are classic bangers. “Chateau” isn’t a country song but almost feels like one. “Sex and the City” and “Don’t Go Back to His Ass" are tragic ballads.

Reneé Rapp’s album Bite Me also made the summer worthwhile. I recently posted a review of the record, but my favorites are “Shy”, “Kiss It Kiss it” and “Mad”.

To close out the albums that took over my summer, I was recommended Olivia Dean a couple times, so I listened to her album Messy (2023). “Dive” is popular for a reason. “Everybody’s Crazy” feels like a warm blanket.

The album cover for Live Through This by Hole

A recent evolutionary moment was when I asked TikTok for rock music recommendations after listening to Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill album. I adored “Perfect” and “You Oughta Know”. Once being recommended Hole’s Live Through This (1994), I became obsessed with “Rock Star”. As someone who grew up in the Pacific Northwest, I love a mention of Olympia.  

Of course, no summer is complete without “Cruel Summer” (2019) and “August” (2020) by Taylor Swift. “Labyrinth” (2022) was also on my mind.

Alina, who I mentioned in an earlier seasonal recap for her song “I Know, I Know, I Know” came back with the gorgeous “Get a Grip”. I will never get over her voice.

Now some songs I discovered or re-discovered! I heard the outro of Imogen Heap’s “Just for Now” (2005) on TikTok and had to hear the full song. While shuffling a playlist of some of my long-time favorite female artists, I remembered how much I adore “God is a Woman” (2018) by Ariana Grande. That hook. I also remembered “Billie Bossa Nova” (2021) by Billie Eilish. Maren Morris’s latest album dreamsicle sent me into a spiral, particularly the title track. While watching The Summer I Turned Pretty, “I miss you, I’m sorry” (2020) by Gracie Abrams was placed back at the top of my mind. “Blow Me” (2012) by P!nk resumed the revival she had in my brain when I revisited my hometown over spring break. Luca, who I interviewed for this blog nearly a year ago, wowed me with “How Could You?” “How could you look at all the love in my eyes and leave it there to die?” I just died.

And lastly, big reveal: my song of the summer, despite it not having been released until August, was “The Subway” by Chappell Roan.

What a summer! You’d best believe that I’ve been discovering plenty of music since moving to Nashville. This fall’s recap will be incredible.

Some favorite lyrics from this summer:

"I made you God cause it was all that I knew how to do" - David by Lorde

"Dreamsicle, perfectly fickle, your magic melts away before I'm done" - Dreamsicle by Maren Morris

"That's so funny, baby, that you could play it all back and skip every part where I loved you" - "That's So Funny" by Reneé Rapp

"Made you the villain, evil for just moving on" - The Subway by Chappell Roan

"'Goodbye' means that you're losing me for life!" - Goodbye by Sabrina Carpenter

If you want to check out my summer playlist and listen yourself, use this link.

If you want to keep up with my autumn playlist as it develops, use this one.