At the risk of sounding extremely banal and cliched, one of the reasons we listen to music is to make us feel something – whether it’s an outlet for anger, to experience good vibes, or even just appreciate extremely well-crafted musicianship.
Here lies the question, though. What albums do you listen to when you want to do nothing but chill, relax, and escape from the world around you? What genres of music do you even start with? We’ve selected 6 albums that might help you, if you open your mind a bit. It should be noted that this is just Volume I of our series. Enjoy!
The Contortionist (Language)
Few bands have undergone quite the drastic evolution of The Contortionist. Initially emerging as a deathcore band on their first two EP’s, the band eventually showed more of a progressive, Cynic-influenced flair on Exoplanet and Intrinsic, while influencing many a band in their wake. While some purists will disagree, 2014’s Language further pushed the envelope, losing much (but not all!) of the band’s aggression, but growing in the process. Realistically, you could include last year’s Clairvoyant in this category too, but Language‘s atmospheric progressive metal really is one of the best albums to experience while disassociating from the world. Especially album highlight “Ebb And Flow”.
Clams Casino (Instrumentals)
Famous for producing the beats of anyone from Lil B to A$ap Rocky, Clams Casino (aka Mike Volpe) and his series of Instrumental mixtapes are certainly a great marker for this list. Structured like modern instrumental hip-hop but with elements of glitch, chillstep, ambient, and plenty more, Instrumentals 1-3 are worth repeated listens for sure. There aren’t many better instrumental songs than “Motivation” and “Numb”.
Shlohmo (Bad Vibes)
More glitched-out electronic instrumental hip-hop, but what makes this Shlohmo record special is its unique “liquid” quality. If that seems fantastic to you, it’s because it is – plug in a nice pair of headphones and you’ll likely find Bad Vibes is a great experience. With a track as glitchy and “liquid” as opener “Bad Feelings”, Bad Vibes gets off to a great start, and doesn’t let go until the end. Nearly an hour of pure bliss.
Tycho (Dive)
Managing to blaze his own trails, Scott Hansen (AKA Tycho) really made a leap into the artist he is now on Dive. While the IDM influence of Boards Of Canada still looms large, so do the addition of guitars and prominent post-rock influences. While follow-ups Awake and Epoch were both great as well, tracks like “Coastal Brake” and the atmosphere of “A Walk” really help to cement Dive as one of the best electronic albums of this decade. Whereas other acts may struggle to be, Tycho’s multifaceted in a way that is hard to top.
Beach House (Bloom)
Beach House’s dream pop really does transport you to another world. It’s arguably their most cohesive record, and probably has the most “dreamlike” qualities too – tracks like “Myth” and “New Year” are rife with the kind of atmosphere that might just be the soundtrack to next night drive. Maybe.
Tesseract (One)
With the hype surrounding Tesseract upon their debut full-length One, they pretty clearly delivered some of the more dynamic progressive metal you’re likely to hear. What makes this a great record, and also fitting of this list, is the way the “Concealing Fate” series of songs provides a great ebb and flow
Bonus: Katatonia (The Great Cold Distance)
Simply one of the most accomplished and unique alternative metal bands of our time, The Great Cold Distance is the album where Katatonia’s songwriting muscles and attention to dark, haunting melodies really hit a home run. That’s not to say their previous records weren’t great (Brave Murder Day ranks among the band’s best), but one listen to tracks like the melodically brilliant “My Twin”, which contains one of the best choruses you’re likely to hear, and you’re guaranteed to reach new heights.
