When the seasons change, oftentimes so do our tastes.
Whether that's due to the overall sensations, appearances, smells, etc. of the world changing, or due to the holidays coming up and different restaurants adapting to new kinds of produce being harvested, or its due to clothing adapted for different weather and styles, everything about a seasonal change affects what we as people are into at any given point.
The only thing that tends to fail us during these transitional periods is music unless it's music-themed around a holiday, the industry rarely adapts to the season.
That being said, oftentimes specific albums will become timeless classics, particularly during a specific season.
As fall approaches and you switch back to hot lattes, your favorite fuzzy sweaters, and layering up for the ever-fickle weather, I'm here to showcase a few of my favorite albums to listen to during the transition from summer to autumn, and throughout the season until I swap my catalog out for wintry vibes in a few months.
1. American Football - American Football (LP1)
An iconic album, one of the forerunners of the "midwest emo" genre, this album was released in 1999 and is still considered innovative by many critics today.
This album explores the angst of realizing your life is changing as you move on from high school to the next chapters of your life, leaving old friends and memories behind, but rather than becoming redundant, it only further resonates the more you age.
This album feels the same way that the nights getting shorter towards the end of summer and beginning of autumn does, and never fails to strike an emotional note within me.
This song honestly is a good feeler for whether or not the album will be in your wheelhouse. It's one of my favorite songs of all time. You can listen to the full album on Spotify here.
2. Hozier - Hozier
Did you really expect a list of fall-flavored music to not put Hozier on it? Nearly every track on this album gives the heaviest fall vibes of any popular release in recent history.
Especially with some of the tracks tacked on in the deluxe version, namely In The Woods Somewhere, this album, Hozier's only full-length to date, was one of the formative pieces of me developing my own music taste back in 2014.
For fans of blues, folk, and indie vibes, this album is still all over the place, and for good reason. If you don't already own this masterpiece, you can always stream it here.
3. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Again, a predictable pick, but Fleetwood Mac always throws off the best ethereal, enchanting, fall vibes. Rumours is a masterpiece of an album, between the different sounds and genres explored, the musical skill, the perfect harmonies in the vocals and instrumentals, and the drama expressed in and the drama that occurred during the making of this album, there's a large list of reasons to give this album a listen any time of the year.
Not to mention the fact that this album is basically a greatest hits collection with how many of Fleetwood Mac's most well-known songs were on Rumours before they were ever recreated in Stevie's solo career or on their actual Greatest Hits album.
Fall just brings about a craving for anything touched by Stevie Nicks, so why not revisit the most skillful album ever created by the only band that loves drama even more than the tabloids ever could? Stream this one here.
4. Death Cab For Cutie - Kintsugi
Many of Death Cab For Cutie's albums give off seasonal vibes, and it was hard for me to choose between my three favorites--Kintsugi, Plans, and Transatlanticism--for this list, but upon re-listen to all three, Kintsugi seemed to be the one that fits in the most with the other six albums I'm recommending in this article.
If you're a fan of Death Cab For Cutie at all, you probably already own this record, as it's their most well-written and well-made in several years.
An album I took forever to give my time to listen to, I would urge any of you that haven't already heard it check it out here and enjoy another taste of fall flavor from one of the most established indie groups out there.
5. Foxing - The Albatross
One of the greatest debut albums in recent history, Foxing proved themselves as a force to be reckoned with when they released this masterpiece.
Blending many sounds and genres, and exploring a lyrical theme throughout, this concept album feels the same way that cold ocean winds in the middle of a comfortable fall day do, the same way the late hours of the night in mid-November do, the way the loneliness that comes with the weather rapidly changing does.
One of my all-time favorite albums to listen to, especially at night during the fall, Foxing sum up so many great sensations associated with the colder parts of fall weather. You can listen to this amazing album here.
6. Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties - We Don't Have Eachother
Again, a great masterpiece of a concept album. This is the debut, and only full-length thus far, from Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties, the acoustic folk project of The Wonder Years frontman Dan "Soupy" Campbell.
It explores a man's struggles after his wife announces she wants a divorce and he tries everything to fix it. While not explicitly an autumn occurrence, it's only natural to associate folk projects with the fall, especially when they're lyrically driven and filled with some level of pain and heartache.
I always revisit this album, and the subsequent EP and single that further the story line, when fall comes around. Listen to Aaron West go through his life's crisis here, and keep tabs on this project for more pieces of his life eventually, whenever Soupy decides to make more.
7. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over the Sea
I would be remiss to put so many indie/folk-y projects on this list and not shout out one of the most influential indie rock albums of all time: Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over the Sea.
This album, mostly due to Jeff Mangum's reedy voice, sounds like all the parts of what driving around during the summer-to-fall-seasonal-change should sound and feel like. It evokes the sensation of trees around you turning oranges and yellows and reds while the weather stays temperate.
Many songs have a steady rhythm that feels like keeping a consistent pace throughout your road trip.
The vocals are so impressive every time, even though Mangum doesn't have the most impressive range, what he does have is an insane level of support and control over his voice, holding many notes for long and steady enough that his voice itself blends into the soundscape.
One of my favorite albums of all time, and one that transcends a couple different seasonal boundaries the same way that We Don't Have Eachother does, this album still manages to feel most at home nestled into the beginning of your fall listening catalog. Check it out here.
I'm sure it's obvious to anyone reading this list that I have an affinity for many of the standards in the indie/folk vein of music, especially when there's an added twinge of the blues, but when it comes to capturing the essence of fall, there's no other genre that does it better.
Give these fantastic albums a listen, and check out more in the genre for a nice place to begin formulating all of your fall playlists. Cuddle up with a good book and a PSL and play some of these in the background to really set the mood. I hope you enjoy these works as much as I do!
