The last couple of weeks have been hard for me.
And while I’ve been dealing with it, I’ve realized that I’ve fallen back into listening to some of my favorite albums. Five albums, in particular, I’ve listened to all the way through.
I know that everyone goes through hard times, too—it’s a fact of life, after all. So, even though I’m doing better now, I thought that I would share these five albums with you, in the hopes that maybe one will help you with whatever you’re going through. After all, the power of music shouldn’t ever be discounted; listening to music has been proven to be effective for relaxation and stress management, and listening to your favorite albums can be a very peaceful and comforting experience.
So hopefully these albums will provide some sort of relief from your day-to-day life, and maybe even turn into one of your favorite albums.
Depression Cherry by Beach House
The title “Depression Cherry” is, admittedly, an odd, offbeat title for an album. But Beach House, known for their dream pop sound and trance-like music, fit this vibe to a T. Depression Cherry is calming, , but also has an edge of melancholy that separates it out from similar music. The most famous song off this album is “Space Song,” (and for good reason), but my personal favorites from this record are “Bluebird” and “Wildflower.”
High Violet by the National
High Violet is my favorite album by the National, because the meditative instrumentation and lyricism on so many tracks make it such a pleasant listening experience. Still, it covers a lot of hard-hitting topics that are softened somewhat by lead singer Matt Beringer’s vocals; my favorite track, “Conversation 16,” deals with feeling burnt out and hollow, but the orchestration and melody make it feel more calming and relatable than you’d think. If you’re dealing with stress from adulthood, or you just feel stressed out from day-to-day life, I highly recommend checking out High Violet when you have some free time.
Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae
Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer definitely deserves to be classified as a work of art. With clean production and cutting lyrics that reflect on American society and a variety of social issues, this album is both sonically impressive and an important statement on current society. While upbeat, it also feels vindicated and, for a lack of a better word, brilliant. My favorites from this album include “Screwed” and “Crazy, Classic, Life.”
Strange Trails by Lord Huron
This album is famous for “The Night We Met,” but that’s far from the best song on this record. With all the songs melting into one another, it’s an album best experienced in one session, with several standouts including “Frozen Pines,” “Way Out There” and “Meet Me in the Woods.” Dealing with themes of love and loss and based off of Kurt Vonnegut’s recurring character, Kilgore Trout, this album is fascinating and otherworldly at times, and great to listen to when you feel a bit lost.
Abbey Road by the Beatles
