Roadtrip Playlist

Intro — The xx

Minimal, spacious, nighttime motorway energy.

A Walk — Tycho

Feels like early morning driving toward the coast.

Open — Rhye

Smooth, warm, intimate.

Says — Nils Frahm

A slow build you can leave the house to.

Hoppípolla — Sigur Rós

Iceland's calling card. Suits standing next to a cold boot.

Near Light — Ólafur Arnalds

Strings, patience, a flask.

Take Me Somewhere Nice — Mogwai

Scottish and slow. The title is optimistic, as it is every January.

Dayvan Cowboy — Boards of Canada

Hazy and built for a long wait.

Borderline — Tame Impala

Modern psych without feeling overplayed in this context.

Seigfried — Frank Ocean

Dreamlike and reflective.

Chateau Lobby #4 — Father John Misty

Road-trip romance energy.

Pink + White — Frank Ocean

Sunlight-through-the-windscreen type track.

Awake — Tycho

Feels like motion.

Archie, Marry Me — Alvvays

Canadian jangle for the stretch where the forecast improves.

Nowhere with You — Joel Plaskett Emergency

Nova Scotia, for the A-road.

Under the Pressure — The War on Drugs

A long drive in song form.

Seventeen Going Under — Sam Fender

North Shields, so technically a local.

Our Velocity — Maximo Park

Newcastle, at the speed of a Tyne-side car park.

Archangel — Burial

South London, but the sound of a wet car park at dusk.

Miss You — Trentemøller

Danish, for the long drive to Cold Hawaii.

What Else Is There? — Röyksopp

Norwegian and cold in the useful way.

Inspector Norse — Todd Terje

Also Norwegian; the one that gets you out of the car.

Runaway — Aurora

Wind-chill with a chorus.

Where You Go I Go Too — Lindstrøm

Twenty-nine minutes, which is roughly the drive to Unstad.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence — Ryuichi Sakamoto

Hokkaido in January, via a piano.

Kids Return — Joe Hisaishi

Quiet, then a bit of lift. Sea-facing optimism, used sparingly.

Colomb — Nicolas Jaar

Chilean, slow, left-hand-point pace.

Sol de Invierno — Javiera Mena

Chilean winter sun, in the literal sense.

1977 — Ana Tijoux

Santiago, sharper than the water.

Future Me Hates Me — The Beths

New Zealand, about tomorrow's 6am alarm.

Ribs — Lorde

New Zealand, for the parked-car part of the session.

Avant Gardener — Courtney Barnett

Hobart-raised, so it counts as Tasmanian.

Good Girl — Jockstrap

Modern UK edge without killing the vibe.

Ain't It Funny — Danny Brown

For a sudden burst of chaos and energy.

Space Song — Beach House

Almost mandatory for this aesthetic, but still works.

Marlboro Nights — Lonely God

Late-night coastal drive energy.

Starburster — Fontaines D.C.

Irish, anxious, the paddle-out in four minutes.

Holocene — Bon Iver

Open landscapes, emotional weight.

Myth — Beach House

Probably one of the most "SVRF" sounding tracks possible.

Eventually — Tame Impala

Huge emotional atmosphere.

Nude — Radiohead

Cold sea air at dusk.

Heavy Water / I'd Rather Be Sleeping — Grouper

Fog, with a track attached.

For the wetsuit peel, the flask and the slow thaw.

Roads — Portishead

Wet tarmac, engine running.

To Build a Home — The Cinematic Orchestra

The long exhale.

Your Rocky Spine — Great Lake Swimmers

Canadian, quiet, warming up.

Last Bloom — Floating Points

Feeling returns to the fingers.

Midnight City — M83

Classic for a reason.

After Dark — Mr.Kitty

Moody neon energy.

Retrograde — James Blake

Dark atmospheric UK feel.

Nightcall — Kavinsky

Cinematic finish.

Loud Places — Jamie xx

The drive home, still a bit wired.

Glue — Bicep

Last tracks of the night, windows slightly open.