This is the second installment in my summer 2025 synth pop playlist series, where I mine every single morsel of musical nostalgia I’ve accumulated for the summers of ~2008 to 2015. Plundering a rich field of fools gold chillwave, 80s-inspired pop wallpaper, and grooves galore.

In my playlisty brain, Electric Eel Boogie is the direct sequel, or what follows in-universe events that happen after my previous playlist Sun Glitters On Cool Water (which you can listen to HERE). It features tracks that are a bit more clubby / electronic, including Aeroplane’s remix of Friendly Fires’ “Paris,” Cut Copy’s stab into 90s electro “Let Me Show You Love” off their 2013 record Free Your Mind, along with touches of darkness within the otherwise buoyant synth pop lineup.

Looking at the playlist as a whole, this one seems to be more built off tracks I’ve hung onto and have become “canon-defining” of the era. Do I know if a lot of these songs have stuck with others like me? No, but I do know they’re both good and have stuck with me since their release. Examples include When Saints Go Machine’s “Kelly,” Still Corners’ “Berlin Lovers,” Tomas Barfod’s “November Skies” and Games (aka Ford & Lopatin) “Strawberry Skies” with Laurel Halo on vocals. Alongside the chillwave of it all, there’s also a foray into maximal synth pop ie CHVRCHES, Postiljonen and Class Actress. I think it’s a solid playlist that encapsulates the era and summer vibe well, and I hope it brings you some rose-colored, early Instagram filtered joy.

Listen to Electric Eel Boogie via Tidal HERE

1. Studio – “Origin”
2. STRFKR – “Bury Us Alive”
3. Games – “Strawberry Skies”
4. Small Black – “Camouflage”
5. Junior Boys – “Birthday”
6. Restless People – “Basic Needs”
7. Germans – “Cruel”
8. El Guincho – “Ghetto Facil”
9. Chairlift – “Met Before”
10. Cut Copy – “Let Me Show You Love”
11. Friendly Fires – “Paris (Aeroplane Remix)”
12. When Saints Go Machine – “Kelly”
13. Magic Touch & Sapphire Slows – “When I See You”
14. Class Actress – “Weekend”
15. CHVRCHES – “We Sink”
16. Postiljonen – “We Raise Our Hearts”
17. Tomas Barfod – “November Skies (feat. Nina Kinert)”
18. John Talabot – “Families (feat. Glasser)”
19. Hundred Waters – “Me & Anodyne”
20. Still Corners – “Berlin Lovers”
21. Phantogram – “When I’m Small”
22. The Radio Dept. – “Never Follow Suit”
23. HEALTH – “Before Tigers (CFCF Rmx)”
24. Solange – “Locked In Closets”
25. Twin Shadow – “At My Heels”