I gotta admit something to y’all: I don’t think I listened to even ten records from July. Maybe I did, but it really seems like I didn’t. I’m struggling to think of things to recommend here. Usually I list at least 10. That seems like a good number, right? This month, I only have four records below. I think listing any more would have been a stretch. Even looking at the stats from this month compared to the others, it’s clear I was preoccupied doing other things:

As you can see, July was by far my sparest month of listening. I didn’t really know what to get into and nothing new was exciting me into the throes of obsession. I was also coming off of the three heaviest months of the year so far, so maybe July was a cool-down month, despite its brutal heat.

Let’s take a look at what I was listening to in July:
1. Beach House (102 plays) [primarily Depression Cherry & Thank Your Lucky Stars]
2. Yaeji (79 plays) [Unlocked my fancy for her self-titled EP & “Guap”]
3. Boat Club (69 plays) [Perfect summer music]
4. El Guincho (65 plays) [Saw him live this month for the first time]
5. Death Grips (55 plays) [Got back into The Money Store]
6. TR/ST (55 plays) [Saw them live near the end of the month]
7. Jessy Lanza (49 plays) [Always listening to Oh No]
8. Laurel Halo (49 plays) [Always listening to Quarantine]
9. TOPS (48 plays) [“Topless” is a great song to walk around to]
10. Japanese Breakfast (47 plays) [Mostly just “Machinist”]

And finally, here are the things that I do recommend you listen to that arrived in July, 2017:

Ross From Friends – The Outsiders [Magic Wire]
After finding a secret club located in the basement of your local video store, you become close friends with the club’s best dancer, but whenever you would run into each other outside of the club, they wouldn’t recognize you.

Star Tropics – Lost World [Shelflife]
The cutest couple the remote, suburban town had ever seen in its 200-year history have a myriad of romantic adventures past curfew, all of which they recount to their friends before class starts the next morning.

Sudan Archives – Sudan Archives [Stones Throw]
Limbs & digits made of wildflowers, skin made of soil, speech of waterfalls, eyes of sunlight, mind like the wind; conversing with the stars and the animals. A being that can disarm you and help get yourself more in touch with your insides.

White Poppy – The Pink Haze Of Love [self-released]
Watching clouds shaped like friends you haven’t seen in a long time drift by.

GR8 SONGS OF JULY:

• Belle Game – “Spirit”
• Flash Trading – “Vini”
• The Heirs – “Suburban Wonderland”
• Hundred Waters – “Blanket Me”
• Japanese Breakfast – “Machinist”
• Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – “An Intention”
• Omni – “Equestrian”
• Ross From Friends – “Crimson”
• Star Tropics – “Wildfire”
• Sudan Archives – “Goldencity”
• Sudan Archives – “Oatmeal”
• TR/ST – “Bicep”
• Waxahatchee – “Recite Remorse”
• White Poppy – “Hypnotized”

Don’t forget about my running Spotify playlist of my favorite songs of the year

Here are some other albums of July that I didn’t listen to but maybe you will find good:

• Avey Tare – Eucalyptus
• Broken Social Scene – Hug Of Thunder
• Cornelius – Mellow Waves
• Euglossine – Sharp Time
• Golden Retriever – Rotations
• Katie Von Schleicher – Shitty Hits
• Lana Del Rey – Lust For Life
• Shabazz Palaces – Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star / Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines
• Sheer Mag – Need To Feel Your Love
• She Sir – Rival Island
• This Is The Kit – Moonshine Freeze
• Tyler The Creator – Flower Boy