Bands of Summer

I am trading brown sweaters for worn linen, retiring Columbia boots for Madden flats, tired jeans for cotton dresses and my work ethic for three-hour meals on Battell Beach. And as I am restructuring my mood from hibernating bookworm to GPA-murdering social butterfly, I find myself deleting playlists such as "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground," and facelifting my iPod with mixes boasting the promises of "Why Ponder Life's Complexities When the Leather Runs Smooth on the Passenger Seat?" While your Belle and Sebastian catalogue may be where you instinctively turn to, just because you have a favorite t-shirt doesn't mean you never update your wardrobe. Try these three artists on for size — they will at least keep you covered until the new Death Cab release on May 13.

Besides awesomeness, the tying factors between the French duo M83, Baltimore childhood couple Beach House and Liverpool vixen Candie Payne is nostalgia. M83's fifth full-length release Saturdays=Youth is aptly named — playing itself as the ideal soundtrack for idyllic afternoons and windows-down windy roads. The first cut, "Graveyard Girl," incorporates the lushness of acclaimed 2003's Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts, but updates some of the duo's earlier shoegaze aesthetics with poppy percussion. Unfortunately, it drags me back to high school in a bad way with a cheesy spoken interlude including the gem, "I'm 15 years old and I already feel like it's too late to live." The '80s-inspired synth-pop tracks like "Kim and Jessie" and the more subdued "Too Late," however, more than make up for it, evoking simpler times scripted by John Hughes. Throw in lines such as "Kids outside worlds / They are crazy about romance and illusion" sung in Anthony Gonzalez's stylized vocals, and I feel exhilaratingly infinite after 20 minutes into the disc. The Phil Collins of our generation, M83's April 15 release is pure pop, masterfully memorable in its reconstructed musical memories of a past decade.

Fittingly enough, Beach House is the perfect vacation from joint-rolling jam-bands, ghetto-gyrating Young Jeezy and even the plastic punch of the material girl's new single "4 Minutes" (no disrespect, Madge). From the opening harpsichord harmonies of "Wedding Bells," their second attempt, Devotion, blends the catchy chamber-pop of Matt Pond PA with the inebriating ambience of Tegan and Sara. The languid organs, wistful waltzes and the steady vinyl vocals of Alex Scally on standout songs "You Came to Me" and "Gila" add a '50s flavor and '60s sensibility to the Baltimore duo's sophomore release — the warped warbles on "Home Again" even evoking The Beatles at times.

Despite the reemergence of peppy-girl group The Pipettes, the sugary sounds of Lucky Soul and Amy Winehouse's R& B revamp, Britain's Candie Payne purred and slinked her way into the critical eye with her freshman endeavor I Wish I Could Have Loved You More, slated for a May 21 release. Payne's seductive voice tangos with a guttural guitar and cheeky brass on the opening title track which has all the sex appeal, flair and intrigue of a classic Bond flick. The singer/songwriter sustains the tempting tension with "Why Should I Settle for You" — her adoration of Billie Holiday evident in her measured, smoky vocals while the perky percussion of "One More Chance" and "All I Need to Hear" reinvents Motown as modern. Although over-produced and forcibly a period piece at times, Payne's first album looks back and glances forward to a strong career for this Liverpool lady.

So grab a blanket and a couple blank CDs and set about inventing some summer memories of your own. Visit http://www.hypem.com to download any of the above-mentioned tracks, and don't forget the sunscreen — only music is fun when it's burned.

"Gila" Beach House
"Too Late" Gila
"All I Need to Hear" Candie Payne

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