TOP CHILL SONGS - WEEK 35

As August draws to a conclusion, you may be feeling somewhat bittersweet. While it's exciting to look ahead to all of the adventures set to come over the next few weeks, it's never easy making that official switch from summer to fall. Before you wave goodbye to the warm days and long nights completely, then, why not make the most of what's left of the sunshine season this Labor Day Weekend with the latest edition of We Are: The Guard's Top Chill Songs? Just put on some headphones and enjoy the following chill vibes from Swae Lee, Floating Points, Gallant, Toro y Moi, Bea Miller & Jessie Reyez, and more.

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SWAE LEE (FEAT. DRAKE) – WON'T BE LATE

Rae Sremmurd's Swae Lee is winding down summer in tranquil style with his latest single “Won't Be Late.” The Tekno-produced cut finds Swae teaming up with Drake over a placid yet danceable island beat, with both rappers swaying insouciantly to the vibe as they sing about taking it slow with the one that you love: “Take your time, set the mood right/Settle down, skeptical at first but now I'm not.”

SLENDERBODIES – ARRIVAL

Ahead of the release of their album Komorebi next month, slenderbodies return with the majestic “arrival.” With the duo's breathy, alt-J-esque incantations coming set against a backdrop of dappling, rippling guitars and organic-sounding drums, “arrival” is a tranquil piece of folklore that'll journey you to the heart of the enchanted forest.

THEY. – STOP PLAYIN'

To quote one YouTube comment: “This the song you play cruising on an empty road at night with the top down.” R&B duo THEY. are taking a one-way ticket to the city lights on their latest single “Stop Playin',” a carnal ode to getting it on that's best listened to sometime after midnight. “My favorite records were always the ones you could bump in the bedroom and in the whip,” writes THEY.'s Drew Love. “A lot of pent up sexual energy went into this record, let's just say that.”

EMOTIONAL ORANGES – JUST LIKE YOU

Emotional Oranges are a gift that keeps on giving. Just one month on from the release of “Don't Be Lazy,” the enigmatic R&B duo return today with another seductive hymn for the bedroom. “Sometimes I love myself/Touch myself/Thinking of you,” sings the mysterious “V” on the cut, a guitar-driven ode to the pursuit of female pleasure that positively pulses with sexually liberating energy.

FLOATING POINTS – LAST BLOOM

Coinciding with the announcement of his album Crush – due out in October – London producer and neuroscientist Floating Points returns today with “Last Bloom.” As the song title suggests, it's a driving journey through lush swathes of analog landscapes, with modulating synths and percussive textures vibrantly unfurling at every kinetic twist and turn.

GALLANT – SLEEP ON IT

Gallant follows in the footsteps of Normani and channels the R&B of the early 00s on his alluring latest single “Sleep on It.” The song is very much an ode to the tantalizing joys of make-up sex, with the Los Angeles crooner getting in touch with inner Usher as he sensuously sings about moving a lovers' quarrel to the bedroom: “Complicated, but your body's just the opposite/I wanna sleep on it/Sleep on it.”

TORO Y MOI (FEAT. WASHED OUT) – BALANCE

Chillwave legends Tory y Moi and Washed Out join forces after almost a decade on “Balance.” The cut – which forms part of smartbeats, an EP produced by Toro y Moi in collaboration with wellness companies smartwater and Endel – is a deeply meditative piece of music, with the combination of Washed Out's echoing vocals and Toro y Moi's droning synths genuinely helping to restore a sense of mental and physical equilibrium.

SUMMER WALKER – PLAYING GAMES

Atlanta's Summer Walker is here to demand the attention that she very much deserves on her steamy latest single “Playing Games.” “All I ever asked was you to/Pick up the phone when you alone/All I ever asked was you to/Show me some love, kisses, and hugs,” sings the LVRN signee on the London on da Track-produced slow jam, which hears Summer making reference to Destiny's Child's “Say My Name” in the sensual chorus.

FRND – WHAT IF I FALL APART

Kleenex at the ready, as We Are: The Guard favorite FRND is aiming straight for the feels with his latest single. “'What If I Fall Apart' is about feeling lost after a relationship. You don't feel like yourself and you forgot what it felt like to be alone,” writes the Los Angeles producer of the cut, which builds from breathtakingly emotional beginnings into an explosive firework display of sound. “You're trying to find those pieces of yourself that only belonged to you, but you gave so much of yourself to someone else.”

BEA MILLER & JESSIE REYEZ – FEELS LIKE HOME

There's nothing quite like falling in love with someone who makes you feel safe. Someone who makes you feel complete. Someone who makes you feel like you're home. Just ask Bea Miller and Jessie Reyez, who are celebrating that beautifully one-of-a-kind love on their brand new collaborative single “FEELS LIKE HOME,” a finger snap-laced ballad that hears Bea and Jessie making nothing short of a perfect vocal match.

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Photo by Anatol Lem 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.