What better way is there to spend a rainy day than discovering new music? Next time you’re stuck inside on a cold, dreary day with nothing to do besides wallow, put on one of the following albums and listen your heart out.
1. "If You Wait," London Grammar.
A dreamy blend of indie and art pop, London Grammar’s fairly popular 2013 album is the kind of music you turn on and immediately sink into. The soothing yet emotional vocals are perfectly balanced with strong beats and instrumentals, and make for the perfect ambiance for when it’s cold and dark outside. My favorite tracks on this album are "Sights" and "Strong."
2. "In The Mountain In The Cloud," Portugal. The Man
This psychedelic indie rock album is noisy but harmonious, and will fill up the room and your soul when you listen to it. This album is cohesive and flows together so well that you’ll find yourself confused when it’s over, as if all the tracks blended into one song that just went on for a really long time (but in a good way). My favorite songs are "So American" and "Sleep Forever," the opening and closing tracks, respectively.
3. "An Awesome Wave," alt-J.
Alt-J, or Δ as this popular indie band prefers to be called, came out with “This Is All Yours” last year, but their debut album is my personal favorite. Listening to this album feels like gliding effortlessly through the ocean and seeing lots of cool shipwrecks and coral reefs, and then drowning, but not really minding because this album is so good. The lyrics are strange and intriguing but require some focus since the lazy vocals are often drowned out by layered instrumentals. This is one of my favorite albums ever, and my most-loved tracks are “Intro,” “Matilda,” and “Taro” (which, as an added bonus, has a cool Bhangra-inspired chorus).
4. "On Avery Island," Neutral Milk Hotel.
This band’s magnum (or should I say, Mangum) opus was without a doubt “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” (which I could write essays upon essays on -- so if you haven’t yet listened to it, add that to this list), but this lesser album also deserves some recognition. Captivating melodies delivered by strong vocals are a hallmark of this album. The real star of the show, however, is haunting lyrics that are graphic, seeped in imagery and often downright strange or abstractly beautiful. My favorite songs on this album are “Where You’ll Find Me Now,” “Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone,” and “Naomi”.
5. "Modern Vampires of the City," Vampire Weekend.
Yeah, there’s no way I’d write anything music-related without mentioning Vampire Weekend. This is quite possibly my favorite album of all time, or at least in my top three. Listening to this album is literally a religious experience, not only due to religion being the theme of many of the tracks, but also just how amazing it is. The music and lyrics are equally profound and go hand in hand in creating the tone of each song and the album as a whole. Ezra Koenig’s vocals are flawless as always, and this album will certainly leave you pondering the meaning of life (as many of his popular tweets do). My favorite songs include "Obvious Bicycle," “Unbelievers” and “Step,” although every track is pure gold.
