10 solar albums to listen to all summer

© Laura Dern in “Smooth Talk”, Carlotta Films

Whether you’re in the middle of a tanning session on the beach, stuck in traffic on the holiday road or crammed in the Paris subway (sniff…), one thing’s for sure: you need THE soundtrack to go along with every moment of your summer. Between freshly released gems and timeless classics, jazzy vibes and britpop energy, nostalgia and new memories, Do It has prepared the perfect #summer playlist for you. Let the music play!

The album of the summer was released this January. So since the beginning of the year, you’ve necessarily already heard the intro of the hit NUEVAYoL, which invaded Insta feeds. This intro, a sample from the 1975 track Un Verano en Nueva York by El Gran Combo, immediately sets the tone of the 5th album by Puerto Rican Bad Bunny, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. A vibrant tribute to his native island of Puerto Rico, the most-streamed and top-selling artist of 2022 blends his urban pop/r’n’b with powerful brass, omnipresent percussion and sounds deeply rooted in him: dembow, reggaeton, bolero… While the mood is island-like, warm and particularly danceable, the album is more political than ever: Bad Bunny celebrates a cultural identity and delivers a punchy album against ongoing American imperialism.

Our favorite tracks: NUEVAYoL, of course. But also BAILE INoLVIDABLE and its definitely insular atmosphere, its powerful brass and piano solo, or La MuDANZA that irresistibly makes you want to dance.

DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS – Bad Bunny, 2025. Listen on Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Music.

Hawaiian guitars, can opening sound effects at the start of the title track, an exotic and sunny cover: Green Juice, the first album from the chillest Parisian duo, is THE soundtrack to survive heatwave summers. Papooz infuse their 70s pop influences (think Beatles and Beach Boys) into an electrified tropical bossa à la Arto Lindsay (to whom they dedicate a cover of Simply Are). The result: a holiday-sounding album, cheerful pop without falling into bubblegum territory, perfect for sipping during apéro or a beach day with little waves caressing your feet.

Our favorite tracks: Ann Wants to Dance, the track that launched the band before their Colors session a few years later, the surf-pop rock of Good Times on Earth, or the naïve Trampoline. We also love Louise, about a young woman who’s listened to David Bowie a little too much.

Green Juice – Papooz, 2016. Listen on Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Music.

A still-warm surprise drop from last week, Don’t Tap The Glass by Tyler, The Creator is THE summer event album. And for good reason! Eclectic and incredibly talented rapper, he offers here a ninth album bursting with energy and serotonin, a confident invitation to dance without fear of being judged and/or filmed. Regressive and with once again well-picked samples, we find hints of his early projects (to our great delight). While he distances himself from the introspective Chromokopia released just months ago, we love the lighter tone that will keep us smiling all season long. Volume up, absolutely!

Our favorite tracks: the danceable and sexy Don’t You Worry Baby, the funkier Ring Ring Ring with its disco bassline sampling Off The Wall by Michael Jackson, the more R’n’B Sucka Free and the very “IGOR” (his 2019 award-winning album) Sugar On My Tongue.

Don’t Tap The Glass – Tyler, The Creator, 2025. Listen on Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Music.

If you’re bitter about missing Oasis’ comeback this summer, our anti-FOMO remedy is to fuel the rivalry between the two biggest britpop bands and dive back into a Blur album. But not just any! It’s summer, so we return to The Great Escape, a concept album about detachment and solitude. Because after months of work and skyscrapers, we want to relax away from the crowd, whether at the sea or in the countryside, Blur offers ballads and more energetic hits to match a well-deserved isolation. Perfect to recharge this summer.

Our favorite tracks: although frontman (and new TikTok edit star) Damon Albarn is no longer as proud of this album as he once was, we still love Country House, which makes us dream of countryside holidays, Charmless Man mocking the know-it-alls we meet too often, or Dan Abnormal, a nearly autobiographical anti-social anthem from the frontman.

The Great Escape – Blur, 1995. Listen on Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Music.

From British Robert Palmer, you may already know Every Kinda People, a cult 70s track with an airy bassline and Caribbean steel drums. This killer hit, brought back to fame in France by a Heineken ad in the 80s, hides behind it the pristine album Double Fun. Tinted with pop-rock embraced by funky touches, the arrangements haven’t aged a bit and each instrument stands out clearly. We might not go as far as to take off our swimsuit like the hot cover suggests, but we’ll happily play it poolside.

Our favorite tracks: beyond the excellent and tropical Every Kinda People, we love Night People, a faux Stevie Wonder with funky guitar, jazz fusion bass and strong brass, and also You Overwhelm Me for its disco feel and swirling string section. Special mention for the ultra-flirty cover of You Really Got Me by The Kinks.

Double Fun – Robert Palmer, 1978. Listen on Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Music.

A sensual new idol who’s slaying both on social media and in the big leagues (from her first EPs and albums, she collaborates with Snoop Dogg, Tyler, The Creator, Gorillaz and opens for Lana Del Rey), Kali Uchis released her fifth album Sincerely last May. Sultry and languid, the Colombian singer – reminiscent of a glamorized Sade in pink and glitter – pushes the reverb on this steamy record that feels like a diary and love letter to her boyfriend Don Toliver and their child (whose adorable giggle closes the track ILYSMIH… too cute). Once again, she seduces us and will soundtrack both our steamy nights and our lazy days by the water.

Our favorite tracks: the angelic opener Heaven is a Home…, All I Can Say with its oldies vibe, the more R’n’B/neo-soul Angels All Around Me, and the already much-Instagrammed Sugar! Honey! Love!, sometimes close to Lana Del Rey.

Sincerely – Kali Uchis, 2025. Listen on Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Music.

The Beach Boys didn’t just ride the hits—they made them. While their peak was reached with the nearly liturgical album Pet Sounds, the genius of the beach boys bloomed early, especially on the excellent Surfer Girl. Already using double-tracking (a technique that doubles vocals to make harmonies richer and deeper), the Californians ride between brilliant songwriting and sun-soaked American pop, still salty from the last wave. This summer is also a chance to say goodbye to Brian Wilson, who recently passed, and whose holiday-like melodies hold real musical sophistication.

Our favorite tracks: we obviously love the hit Little Deuce Coupe, but we adore the soft breeze of Your Summer Dream, and especially the gorgeous In My Room, whose harmonies composed by Brian Wilson even brought his tyrannical father to tears…

Surfer Girl – The Beach Boys, 1963. Listen on Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Music.

No one believed in a comeback from Henri Salvador in 2000. And yet! Over 80 years old, after several failed returns and now backed by a stellar team of composers (Keren Ann, Benjamin Biolay, Thomas Dutronc, Art Mengo…), the French bossa nova crooner returns in full force with Chambre avec Vue. The album is a hit: it earns praise from critics, love from the public, and even a Victoire de la Musique. A beloved and comforting album, poetic and travel-filled pop, talking about summer and smelling of the Mediterranean. It moves us, makes us smile, and makes us want to see Syracuse again – this time from a balcony with a sea view.

Our favorite tracks: the swaying Jazz Méditerranée, the lyrical Jardin d’hiver that can bring tears even to the least sensitive, the romantic and sunny Il fait dimanche, and the beautiful duet Le fou de la reine with the iconic and late Françoise Hardy.

Chambre avec Vue – Henri Salvador, 2000. Listen on Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Music.

Already with a strong place in the current soul landscape, the American band Durand Jones & The Indications released their fourth radiant album Flowers at the end of June. For those nostalgic for Curtis Mayfield, Al Green or their worn-out Motown compilations, but still wanting to enjoy that cozy retro soul spirit, the band brings sweet melodies (though a tad conventional), soft groovy production, and especially the vocal duo of Durand Jones’ sultry voice and the falsetto of drummer Aaron Frazer (also great solo). A bouquet of hits inspired by the greats, without copying them, to listen to all summer, hair in the wind, Ray-Ban Aviators on.

Our favorite tracks: the ethereal Paradise, where Aaron Frazer's voice sounds angelic, the very groovy Lovers Holiday, followed by the sexy I Need The Answer, or the more classic Been So Long, which reminds us of Lenny Kravitz. By the way, they’re opening for him on his 2025 tour: classy.

Flowers – Durand Jones & The Indications, 2025. Listen on Spotify, Deezer, or Apple Music.

In 1998, she walked into Electric Lady Studios (personal studio of Jimi Hendrix) and forever changed the neo soul landscape with the album Mama’s Gun. An enchantress with the look of a Queen of Sheba of R’n’B and soul, Erykah Badu bewitches with this jazzy, spiritual record blending black poetry, activism, romantic flânerie, and blazing love. Surrounded by legends (Roy Hargrove, Roy Ayers, Stephen Marley, Betty Wright…), the arrangements are remarkable for their warm, sensual, sunny mood. A monument of African-American music that soothes and feels like a caress, a sunbeam warming you just by listening. Two well-deserved Grammy nominations!

Our favorite tracks: the sexy Bag Lady, with its iconic riff also heard in Xxxplosive by Dr. Dre, the hypnotic Didn’t Cha Know, the political A.D. 2000, a moving tribute to Amadou Diallo, a 22-year-old Guinean immigrant killed by four undercover NYPD officers, and the very jazzy Green Eyes.

Mama’s Gun – Erykah Badu, 2000. Listen on Spotify, Deezer, or Apple Music.