Ah, the heat! Summer is upon us and bevy of singles have arrived all vying to soundtrack the season for us this year. Get ready to roll down the windows and crank the stereo to test these ones.

Sourcing talent from Hollerado and Tokyo Police Club, Toronto-based Girlfriend Material are teasing audiences with just few tunes from their upcoming new album, Cool Car. “First of the Month” launches with a catchy discordant jangle that devolves into a glorious head-bobber, alternating between understated and more punky vocals. Capitalization-averse pronoun is the moniker of Brooklyn-based artist Alyse Vellturo and her new album sounds to me like the poprock album Enya might make. A bit dreamy from the start, the debut single “run” has a killer roll out guitar hook that kicks in and never lets up. The album is i’ll show you stronger and it’s worth a listen, particularly for the perfectly titled “you didn’t even make the bed.” Salt Lake City’s Sunsleeper is often tagged as emo and it’s definitely there in their catalogue but the new record You Can Miss Something and Not Want it Back does hold some surprises. Like “Soften Up,” a more uptempo driving tune than their usual fare. Toronto-based Taylor Knox continues to develop a unique brand of crunchy poprock on his just-released LP Here Tonight. Case in point: “City of Night,” a cool slice of melodic AM radio sunshine, particularly in the chorus.

Summer means patios and drinks with umbrellas and just how are Girlfriend Material, pronoun, Sunsleeper, and Taylor Knox supposed to pay for all that? You know the drill.

Boardwalk photo courtesy Larry Gordon.