Thanks, again. I found time to listen to the songs. I gave feedback for most of them, and I felt bad every time I had to say that a song didn't work for me. Please don't get this wrong, I appreciate every single suggestion. I just have very specific taste.
I like the melodie, but the singer feels too intense for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSEsMpMxkg4
The refrain is especially beautiful, but everything about this feels good. Nice one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBKEt3MhNMM
Not quite what I'm looking for, mainly due to the way the lyrics are sung not quite fitting (even aside from the language barrier). It IS beautiful, just doesn't hit that feeling. I'll keep it in mind for another time of the year, though.
You may be interested in Belle and Sebastian -- they have a lot of that sort of light pop sound to them. Here's something you may like, though the almost krautrock driving percussion in this specific track may give the song more intensity than you want -- let me know how this one hits you:
I like a lot about it, but it has some parts where it gets more intense than I would like. The calmer parts are wonderful (I mean, the whole song is, just not quite fitting for what I'm interested in now).
I did try the next one suggested by youtube,
Nobodys Empire, and that one feels like...floating, I think? It feels so light and like it lifts my soul, or something. Point is, I'll look more into them.
Your last entry reminds me greatly of Carbon Leaf. Some of their stuff is of a more traditional rock style, but they have lots of lighter, more melancholy tunes that definitely will fit in well with your interest, especially their more acoustic stuff.
At the start, I felt too much reminded of Country (I don't understand music genres, it just hit what Country is in my head somewhat), but it soon grew on me. Very nice one.
A lot of stuff from late post-punk into what we now call adult alternative has a high likelihood of fitting what you're looking for here. U2 and REM definitely have a number of songs that strike me as matching the kind of atmosphere you're looking for.
They are popular enough, that I know them, and remember some songs, if I listen to them.
With or Without You is wonderful. And REM is the band with Shiny Happy People. Not what I'm looking for, but I still love that song.
Imitation of Life is a bit too lifely, I think, at least in the refrain? And feels like it has a bit of a grim undertone?`Another great song, but not quite there.
To answer the question,
Duke Dermott's Ocean Drive
That one feels too intense for me. I think it's generally not quite my thing.
These two have very nice parts, but for most of it, still feel too intense for me. Sorry, but I still appreciate you bringing them to my attention.
Fantastic challenge! Here are my entries (I've realized that most of these may be cheating because they explicitly reference summer, but so be it).
No worries, there is no cheating, I'm happy about every suggestion.
In this case, I only wrote something about the songs that worked for me, elsewise it felt pointlessly nitpicky. Again, thanks for the suggestions.
The refrain is a thing of beauty. Strangely, the rest doesn't work quite as well for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvW9E2606Oc
This one, though, is perfect from start to finish. It really makes me feel the mood of a summer night, where I'm just
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld81Y6Em3NM
I really, really like the music of this one, but it just doesn't contain enough singing for me. Which is a shame, because the music is great, and she sings, it's wonderful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K7rmxjk5RQ
Too intense for what I'm looking at the moment, but I like a lot about this one. Will work great, when I'm not trying to dissolve into night air, or whatever feeling that is, I'm trying to experience.
So, thanks for all the songs. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to list them. I will look a bit more into the bands whos songs did work for me, though.
Also, a song that I remembered, and that fits really well for me, is
The Game from Echo and the Bunnymen. Still remember how I found it ten years ago, when I watched Donnie Darko for the first and only time, and enjoyed that song at the beginning,
The Killing Moon. Then I found The Game, and loved it even more.