Sometimes my friends can be my principal source of new music, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it just means that most of the music I listen to is music you’d wanna play for your friends. Unfortunately, though, Sofi Tukker doesn’t slap quite as hard when you’re laying in bed with the lights off, wondering what day it is. But on the upside, solitude allows for the opportunity to really dig into music that occupies your entire attention span. So here are some albums that will keep you interested, but without so much energy that you have to like, bob your head and all that.
BALLADS 1 – Joji: True to its name, this album is filled with subdued slaps. Joji has that kind of voice that will break your heart before you even figure out quite what it’s saying. Also, did you know Joji is the pink meme man? I literally just realized that.
White Lighter – Typhoon: This whole album is perfectly precipitously balanced on the edge of chaos. Their songs are vast, but there’s a place for everything and everything is in its place. It surrounds you, but not in a claustrophobic way.
Carrie and Lowell – Sufjan Stevens: If you needed a good cry.
Ventura – Anderson .Paak: Still plenty of bars to keep things moving, but with more mellow R&B instrumentals than Oxnard or Yes Lawd!
Hospice – The Antlers: If you weren’t done crying.
The Bends – Radiohead: After 24 years, I’ve decided that I can no longer delay my Radiohead phase. If you also missed the boat, I encourage you to join me. We can all be sad alone in our rooms together, and the general public will be spared the musings of pretentious 20-somethings who just discovered Radiohead. Win-win.
Thirteen – Louis Prince: Some pleasant jazziness.
Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel: This will calm you and transport you to a simpler time.
Plans – Death Cab For Cutie: No one does sad like Death Cab. And if their recorded albums aren’t giving you your fix, frontman Ben Gibbard is doing live sessions from his home every day at 8 pm CT.
Sea Change – Beck: Weirdos get sad too.
good kid, m.A.A.d city – Kendrick Lamar: Okay, this one is a little hype, but the lyrics are so dense, the flow is so effortless and the storytelling is so compelling that it warrants a few listens in solitary.
Circles – Mac Miller: Grab an edible and dim the lighting. This album will comfort you while you lament, without letting you forget that there’s plenty more good times ahead.
