Birdsong welcomes you in before rolling drums and a flourish of keys establish a sound that is gorgeous from the very first moments. There’s an unmistakable Beach Boys influence to ‘Summertime Ain’t Easy’, particularly in the melancholic side of their sun-drenched pop, but Aimée never allows nostalgia to completely swallow the present. Her classic retro-pop vocal carries its own trace of sadness, while subtle shadows within the instrumentation prevent the song’s sunshine from ever becoming completely carefree. When the chorus opens up, that contrast becomes particularly effective: uplifting enough to sway along to, but with a lingering ache underneath that refuses to disappear.

Aimée describes the track as being about “the fear of missing out and feeling like you’re watching everybody around you be so happy”, calling it “a heaviness you can dance to.” It’s an image the song captures beautifully. ‘Summertime Ain’t Easy’ feels like walking alone along a beach on a perfectly sunny afternoon, the sounds of a distant fairground and everyone else’s summer fun drifting through the air behind you. Add the faded flicker of Super 8 film and you have the perfect visual companion: warm, nostalgic and beautiful, but just a little lonely around the edges.

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