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Five Albums to Listen to This Autumn

There's no doubt in my mind that autumn is my favorite season. I love everything about it. Of course, there are the things like cooler weather and pumpkin-flavored treats, but it goes beyond that for me. Falling at the end of the year (pun not intended), autumn signals an end of sorts in a number of ways. The year is coming to a close, so I find it as a time of reflection. Nostalgia is a very appropriate word here.

Anyway, music is something very important to me, and I purposefully don't latch onto a single genre of music since I since there is a time and place for everything. The fall is no exception, so I wanted to share five albums you should give a listen to this autumn. I'll even take it a step further and recommend a specific song from each album, too.

Without further ado, let's get into it.

1. Small Steps, Heavy Hooves - Dear and the Headlights: And speaking of nostalgia, boy, does this album have that written all over it. The vocalist is unconventional in the fact that you probably wouldn't say he's a good singer, but the emotional range conveyed in his voice is amazing. I love their selection of instruments, from an acoustic guitar to electric organ to slightly out-of-tune piano. The band does an excellent job at starting a song off slow, building the emotion to a peak, the cleverly returning back to a slow end to tie the song off with a nice, neat bow. It's too bad this band is no longer together because I can't recommend this album or their sophomore album, Drunk Like Bible Times, enough.

Check out this song: Hallelujah

2. Pixie Queen - Anthony Green: Definitely the newest album on this list since it was released less then a month ago. Okay, I'll confess: I actually would recommend Anthony Green's album Avalon over this one, but since it's new, I wanted to share it here anyway. (And really, you can't go wrong with anything Anthony Green puts out.) The lyrics within Green's solo albums are generally associated around his wife and kids, and this album is no exception. In the song Will It Be, Green laments the fact that he can't watch his boys grow up while he's out touring on the road. You can practically feel the emotional in the lyrics. I love Green's vocal style, and his pronounced use of acoustic guitar and piano are also exceptional.

Check out this song: A Reason to Stay

3. Only Way to Be Alone - Good Old War: Easily the most "upbeat" album on this list. This album is perfect to listen to on a crisp, clear morning driving with the windows down. The trio of Keith Goodwin (Good), Tim Arnold (Old), and Dan Schwartz (War) melds together an excellent harmony of vocals along with catchy folk melodies. Plus, Anthony Green makes a guest appearance on the track Weak Man. It's like getting a two-for-one!

Check out this song: Coney Island

4. Wildlife - La Dispute: I really, really struggled putting album on my list because La Dispute is EASILY the most divisive band I know. Either you absolutely love them or abhor them. I literally don't think there is a middle ground here. Clearly, I fall in the camp that loves them. This is also the darkest album on this list. The songs within this album follow a narrator trying to make sense of his own life amidst the heartache and pain other people have gone through. This includes a father talking about loving his schizophrenic son that tried killing him (Edward Benz, 27 Times) to an English sharing her faith journey as her son battled and died from cancer (I See Everything). It is a really beautiful album but undoubtedly extremely heavy. If you do listen to it, I wouldn't recommend doing it at work or something because it might have a profound effect on your emotional state. Seriously. But do check it out some evening when you have some time available.

(Bonus: At one point, La Dispute put out a 1-hour audio commentary about the writing of Wildlife entitled Confessions. I'm sure it's out on the Internet somewhere, and it is most definitely worth listening to if you appreciated Wildlife.)

Check out this song: St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church Blues

5. Illinois - Sufjan Stevens: I have no shame in saying that this is my favorite album of all time, and in my opinion, it is equally appropriate for the autumn season. Stevens excellently uses a wide range of instruments, from banjos to flutes to pianos and more. I am admittedly biased, too, since many songs on this album are directly tied to elements of the state of Illinois. Even more to the point, the song Decatur, Or, Round of Applause For Your Stepmother seriously resonates with me as a native of Decatur. (Sufjan even nails the fact that Decatur is home of the Krekel's chicken car!)

While most of the songs are more upbeat, there are some songs like Casmir Pulaski Day that are so heart wrenching that I still can barely make it through the song without having to suppress a tear. The album also features a lot of Christian elements which also resonate with me a lot. Really, this entire album feels just perfect for me as a homegrown resident of Illinois, and I would expect many of you might feel the same after listening to it.

Check out this song: Casmir Pulaski Day
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