“Summer Thing” by Alae is an indie-pop song that makes me feel like dancing in the sand on a sunny day at the beach. For now, I’ll settle with vigorous head-bopping around my house.
Right off the bat, this song grabs your attention with its sound effects. Then the opening vocalist’s head voice is beyond lovely, and it transports you into their love-hazed fantasy world. I can hear the bassist stabilizing the complex beat throughout, but there are a few glorious seconds where the bass holds the spotlight and it is heaven. I replayed that moment countless times. Alae writes these deep, confident, and relaxed lyrics of love defying the stereotype of a fleeting “summer fling.” They detail the effortless joy and trust in the relationship that leads to comical moments like waking up at 5 pm and making breakfast together. In a way, the song itself is very similar to their depiction of a relationship: something that feels so good that it will stick with you for a long time.
Alae is a New Zealand-based group consisting of multi-instrumentalists Alex Farrell-Davey and Allister Meffan, drummer Jayden Lee, and bassist Marika Hodgson. The group works with American/Canadian producer Justin Gray. Alae began in 2016 with just Alex and Allister but by the end of their first year, they welcomed Jayden and Marika. Some of their inspirations include The Kings of Convenience and early Coldplay. Their songs often convey key values such as honesty, acceptance, and emotions as intense as our love for this song.
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Written by Annika Johnson, Edited by Hannah Schneider