TOP CHILL SONGS - WEEK 30

My thermometer is currently breaching 100 degrees. It's so freaking hot, I don't even know if I have the damn energy to write this introduction. And, let's be honest, do you even have the damn energy to read it?! But, here you are, still reading it. LOL! Jokes aside, I'm going to keep this introduction short, because all anybody really wants to do today is lie flat-out naked on their kitchen floor and listen to some chill-ass tunes. So, without further ado (this introduction is now as long as every introduction that I've written), crank up your AC unit, as it's time to check out this week's edition of We Are: The Guard's Top Chill Songs, featuring Billie Eilish, Chance the Rapper, Jessie Reyez, Wet, JMSN, and more.

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BILLIE EILISH – YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN

Is this chill?! I'm not even sure?! I feel like I just want any excuse to bring you a Billie Eilish song, so you know what?! I'm going to run with it! Sure, that sub-bass is enough to send my apartment building shaking, but this 16-year-old's voice could soothe me through the biggest of earthquakes, so I'm prepared to hold on tight. The Queen has arrived.

CHANCE THE RAPPER – 65TH & INGLESIDE

Why is it that every Chance the Rapper song is like a spiritual Sunday service?! No, really, I come out of all of my Chancelor listening sessions feeling so much more ALIVE than when I went in! “65th & Ingleside” – one of four tunes that the Chicago MC dropped this week – is definitely up there with Chance's transcendent best, so hit play and get ready to be taken to CHURCH this Friday morning!

JESSIE REYEZ – APPLE JUICE

Jessie Reyez is the definition of a REAL artist. Everything that the Toronto singer-songwriter touches just BLEEDS with raw emotion and her latest single “Apple Juice” is no exception. This broadcast from the heart hears Jessie doubling down on all that I grew to love about her on her debut EP Kiddo, with her soulful vocal chops as ever taking center stage amid the string-laced production.

WET – 11 HOURS

Wet sound as tall as a cathedral on the grandiose “11 Hours.” With their signature style of synthwave making way for a more maximalist breed of R&B, the Brooklyn duo – and frontwoman Kelly Zutrau in particular – reach a whole new level of feels-inducing transcendence on this latest single to be unveiled from their recent album Still Run.

JMSN – TALK IS CHEAP

If you didn't think that JMSN's “Talk Is Cheap” could get any sexier, then just WAIT until you see this official video! That's right, one month on from the original release, the Detroit crooner returns this July with the Alexa Demie and Natalie Falt-directed homoerotic-inspired visual, and let me tell you, it's HOT STUFF! KEEP MAKING IT RAIN, JMSN!

PNB ROCK – ABCD (FRIEND ZONE)

It's never fun having to face facts that she (or he?!) is JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU, but PnB Rock is here to help you move on and get over it with a smile with his latest single. “Met her in the A, told her where I be/I just wanna see, she just want the D/Miss me with the friend zone, ooh,” sings the Philly rapper on “ABCD (Friend Zone),” a playful little trap tune that could heal even the most broken of hearts.

GRAND PAX – PHASE

This is my first time featuring London musician Grand Pax in We Are: The Guard's Top Chill Songs, although something tells me that it won't be my last time, at least going on her atmospheric latest single “Phase.” Like viewing the world through a rain-speckled window, this gray-hued slice of trip hop-indebted ethereality makes for a welcome change of temperature this summer.

SLENDERBODIES – TAKE YOU HOME

Roll down the car windows, as slenderbodies are taking us for a sultry late-night ride along the coast on their latest single. “'take you home' is the story of a simple summer love,” say the Los Angeles duo of the soraya EP cut, which is best listened to with a warm breeze in the hair. “Any love is a bit complicated though, yet despite this we wanted to paint a picture of comfort and happiness as long as our two lovers are together on their sundown drive.”

J EMBER – SOMETHING MORE

“4:35, I'm drunk again.” And, so begins the new single from j ember, a brooding confessional set after the after-party, when the sun is starting to rise, and so are your regrets. Mixing indie and R&B stylings with ease, “something more” will leave you wanting exactly that from this rising singer-songwriter from Toronto.

JAGUAR DREAMS – DREAMS (FLEETWOOD MAC COVER)

It feels like everyone and their grandmother is currently covering Fleetwood Mac, so to stand out amid the reimaginations, you have to offer up something special. Luckily for Brooklyn newcomers, the aptly named Jaguar Dreams, they do offer up something pretty damn special with this synth pop adaptation of iconic Rumours cut “Dreams,” although don't take my word for it! Hit play and have a listen for yourself :).

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Photo by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash

Jess Grant is a frustrated writer hailing from London, England. When she isn't tasked with disentangling her thoughts from her brain and putting them on paper, Jess can generally be found listening to The Beatles, or cooking vegetarian food.