Sounds of Summer

A Quiet Life

The Sounds of Summer returns with a triple-bill that spans the decades, but has one thing in common — it won't disturb the drowsiness of bathers on their sun loungers or overawe the droning bees slurping away in nearby flowerbeds.

As Bertrand Russell was keen to bang on about: 'A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy can live.'

C Duncan - For

We've had our eye on Glasgow's C. Duncan for a while — he wears some decent tweeds and his debut album was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize in 2015.

This song could easily fit with the Music to Button a Cardigan By series, but For has a nice sunshiny feel to it, too. And there aren't any drum solos or any bangs and crashes to make anyone jump up with a start if they're half-asleep in the summer heat.

Pink Floyd - Grantchester Meadows

Tired of the pap churned out by producers and lip-synced by air-brushed airheads, the kids return to real music played by ugly musicians with real instruments from a time when pop stars invented themselves. Rock is back.

Well, not quite — this song by Pink Floyd is more akin to From Gardens Where We Feel Secure, the pastoral evocation of high summer in England by Virgina Astley.

The droning bees make an appearance on this one, so they will be more than happy to hear it.

Astral Pattern - Sitting in the Sun

A slice of dream pop from London-based Astral Pattern completes the three. Sitting in the Sun shimmers away nicely as singer Melissa Rigby sings softly about sitting in the sun —  and rather appropriately given the context.

I think Astral Projection may have ceased to be a band last year, but we're left with a nice little addition to our summer collection.

Quiet, please.