Calvin Harris Gets Festival Ready With Synth Anthem “Summer”: Listen

With the release of his 2012 full-length 18 Months, Calvin Harris transformed from an across-the-pond electro-curio into a full-fledged international superstar, with four Top 20 hits in the US and even greater success in the U.K. and Europe. Songs like the Rihanna hit “We Found Love,” Usher duet “Let’s Go” and his irresistible Florence Welch collaboration “Sweet Nothing” married the relentless push of electronic dance music to more traditional vocal pop performances, and were timed perfectly to ride EDM’s explosion into a commercially formidable genre.

While Harris ceded most of 12 Months’ vocal duties to other performers, new single “Summer” finds him returning to a place behind the mic. The song doesn’t have much lyrical meat on its bones, but coming on the heels of one of the most severe winters in recent memory, listeners are likely hungry for anything that suggests a warmer, sunnier season. One of Harris’ trademark gigantic synth hooks doesn’t hurt its digestibility, either.