5 Albums for Winter Listening
A photo taken in my first year in YXE, in 2012.
Well, it’s here. Winter has arrived in the prairies abruptly, like it always does. By Halloween, there was a couple inches of fresh snow, which has since then melted, refrozen, and melted again to become a slushy mess on our streets and sidewalks. Today the morning was greeted with a wet, heavy snow, which made my windshield pretty difficult to clean off but perfect for snowballs, at least. I hope the kids are having fun today.
Now that it’s here, gone are the groovy, upbeat indie pop songs and slushy garage-rock tunes I’ve been listening to all summer (Barrie, Royal Canoe, Aurora, Wavves, Bully, etc) and here come the more serene, quiet, and special albums I adore listening to in a cozy space while it’s cold outside. There’s something different that the snow and cold weather brings— I am always a little more grateful for the energy I feel in working on new projects and freelance work, staying inside in my little bubble at my computer.
I like to enjoy listening to music during slow mornings playing with my pets, evenings cooking dinner for my family, working on my iMac, or driving around the city.
Here are 5 albums I’m listening to this winter:
1) Each Other by Aidan Knight (2016)
The cover artwork is one of my favourite parts. With such a striking photo used, the typography remains elegant and smooth. A perfect pairing and very classic.
There’s something perfectly sweet about this record. It can suit quiet and calm moods because of it’s beauty, and seamlessly transitions into the magnitude that this record reaches— It can get really big, loud, lush. Tune in for a focused listen, if you want, or just throw it on in the background while you’re making dinner; this record can be greatly enjoyed either way. Beautiful harmonies from a female voice accent Knight’s gentle tone as we’re carried through the record. Frankly, it’s easy to listen to, easy to love, and suits the tone of a quiet night in or your parents visiting quite perfectly.
Highlights: What Light Never Goes Dim, The Arp
2) House of Sugar by (Sandy) Alex G (2019)
I must admit, this cover is a bit of an odd choice from a graphic design standpoint, but it’s also kind of exactly what this album feels like. Floating out there in space, on the edge of some universe somewhere, finding power in movement.
One of the most exciting artists to hit my radar was the discovery of (Sandy) Alex G. It all started when I completely randomly found a song from an earlier record (a bonus track, oddly enough. Sarah from Trick, 2015) that pretty much made it onto every playlist I made for quite a while. (Sandy) Alex G’s ragged, impulsive-sounding performance style makes for a rough-around-the-edges but extremely charming and love-able vibe. It’s hard to describe the sound. It’s perfectly imperfect, at times completely strange, but overall has this real weight of sincerity to it. This is a record to feel something to. It so cleverly knows how to strike the heartstrings in all the right ways. Oh, and did I mention it’s catchy as hell?
Highlights: Hope, Southern Sky
3) Capacity by Big Thief (2017)
If you haven’t heard of Big Thief yet, it’s your lucky day. They broke out with this record and began dominating the underground scene. Something about Adrienne Lenker’s colourful lyrics, soft vocal touch, and laid-back style makes these soft, pop-infused songs have an electricity to them that make most who listen love them instantly, and the deeper you listen to it’s lyrics, the more there is to explore. It’s a great record to drive around or go for a walk to, and is deserving of a focused listen with a lyric sheet. It’s a really special one.
As Robin Hilton (NPR ‘All Songs Considered’) writes of Capacity:
Catharsis took on many forms in 2017. Some artists raged, some grieved. Some were immediate and of the moment, while others, like Big Thief, sought to purge a lifetime of turmoil and conflicted feelings. Capacity is a breathtaking journey through singer Adrianne Lenker's life, from a horrific childhood accident that nearly killed her, through her coming of age and becoming a young woman. The album is mostly a quiet reflection that seeks wisdom and understanding, even when Lenker sings about a life's darkest moments, from deceit and lies to sexual assault. In the end, Capacity, as the title suggests, is about all the human heart can hold before breaking and a testament to love's ability to endure.
Highlights: Shark Smile, Mythological Beauty
4) Tape Club by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (2011)
I own this record on vinyl, and it’s even more gorgeous in person. This photo is the perfect encapsulation of what this record feels like. Simple, on-point design. It’s all too perfect.
SSLYBY is a staple for me for the winter season, and this album is a collection of demos, B-Sides, and rarities. There is a certain peaceful energy that I always feel when listening to their music. It takes it’s time. It’s groovy and fun. It’s also sad and personal. It’s all over the map, united by the absolutely charming stripped-down sound of someone recording demos that develop their own validity as real music without hesitation. The songs at their core are so good that the lack of production only lets them breathe in a way a studio record just couldn’t do. Essential listening.
Highlights: What We’ll Do (demo), Yellow Missing Signs, The Clod and the Pebble
5) Baby by Alex Bent + The Emptiness
Potentially quite outside my usual wheelhouse genre-wise, Baby is a heartfelt and raw vision of life for a 20-something in 2019. Beautiful, sad, and funny, the songs in this Hip Hop/R&B/Shoegaze Pop record takes me through a roller coaster of emotions I like to embrace and face head on. It’s a record that allows me to step outside of myself and pretend I’m someone else, and I like that. The songs and music videos are all really great, as Bent has worked with the weird and wonderful filmmakers of Dynamic Video Imaging Corporation, an indie film company that is making waves locally and finding their feet internationally as well.
Highlights: Dope Forever, Thank Ya, Coolin’