Staff Picks: Fall Albums

The weather might have not caught up to it yet, but it’s definitely October and autumn is upon us. The trees are changing, midterms are piling up and all we really want is a hug from someone in a soft sweater. It doesn’t matter if you’re leaning into the more gloomy or the lovestruck aspects of fall, these albums got you covered. Cue up your Spotify and get to listening.

Hozier (Hozier) // Diana Velasquez, Culture Editor 

Are you ready to venture into a moody, orange-brown forest? Do you want to cry and howl in the woods? How about some love to go with that teasing autumn chill? Hozier, as always, has you covered. Truly there’s no bad time of year to enjoy his debut and eponymous album “Hozier.” It’s one of the best indie-rock albums out there, but there’s a whole other dimension added to it when the air is frosty with winter on the horizon.

For an optimal autumn listening experience, here are the songs I suggest you listen to first. “To Be Alone” never falters in its hopeless twisted themes of love, with lines like “crude and proud, creatures baying.” Listening to it, you’ll be glancing outside your window expecting phantoms or dark Byronic heroes to run across Cathy’s lawn.

“Take Me To Church” is a melancholic tribute to LGBTQ+ rights that’s fit for any couple in a tight spot. Want to feel even more lovesick? You can bask in the painfully love-obsessed “Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene.” There’s no better time to fully indulge in your feelings than in college, and especially when the weather dips below forty degrees, you’re going to need someone to cuddle up to.

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (Taylor Swift) // Darin Fields, Staff Writer 

Fall is associated with back-to-school nostalgia. As the leaves turn that beautiful orange color, I can’t help but reflect back on past back-to-school seasons. It brings back memories of football games and late nights in random parking lots. No other album brings back that high school nostalgia better than Fearless (Taylor’s version, of course) by Ms. Swift herself. 

The album perfectly captures that naive high school crush, romance and heartbreak all in one. Classic tracks such as “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story” will have you jumping around your dorm room with a fuzzy feeling in your stomach. “Today Was a Fairytale” will remind you of your first homecoming date that made you feel like royalty, and “Hey Stephen” will remind you when that date turned into something more. And finally, you vent about your ex to “Mr. Perfectly Fine” and “The Way I Loved You.”

Adult life is scary and for a lot of college students, the back-to-school season is associated with the return to the internship hunt, grad school considerations and other life-altering stressors.Taking a moment to live in the past for an hour and 46 minutes as Taylor Swift flows through your ears is an essential break this fall.

25 (Adele) // Maria Scanga, Staff Writer

It was a cold and rainy fall October day when Adele broke the internet and sang, “Hello, it’s me…” and then proceeded to release the highly anticipated traditional ballad-filled album “25.” Adele’s music is a fall staple, especially as the days get shorter and the sun becomes an unfamiliar sight. If you’re craving those cloudy autumnal days where you just want to be as gloomy as the weather, you need to scream and belt along with Adele — all about lovers long gone and trying to fight for a relationship that just isn’t going to work.

There’s nothing like listening to Adele sing to you about how you need to leave your toxic relationship and find the love you deserve! Even people in happy and healthy relationships can use a good cry every now and then.

Better yet, Adele reemerged from hiding recently and is releasing a new song this week, just in time for the leaves to finally change. If you want to be prepared for Adele Season, also known as fall, you should probably queue up “25” as a warmup to her next album, which will undoubtedly have us questioning the integrity of our relationships again. Happy Adele Season! Nobody’s relationship is safe.

This is Nat King Cole (Nat King Cole) // Nadiya Greaser, Staff Writer

The tree outside my house started to shed its summer green for a deep orange, I’ve made the formal transition from iced to hot teas and Nat King Cole’s “This is Nat King Cole” has officially replaced the Beach Boys album that lives on my turntable from June to September. Nat King Cole’s velvety baritone and warm crooning lyrics are best suited to 60 degree days spent under a knit blanket with a mug of something warm, or in thick socks and boots crunching through leaves in the park.

“This Is Nat King Cole” has a few big brassy songs, with golden bright horns and bouncing rhythms, like “I Just Found Out About Love” and “To The Ends Of The Earth,” but the album is really about the crackling, crooning autumnal love songs, like “Someone You Love,” “That’s All” and “Never Let Me Go.” His lovestruck sentimentality is especially timely as students couple up to make the most of seasonal festivities and attempt to avoid the bleak winter of singledom. If you’re stuck in the latter, listen to “I’m Gonna Laugh You Right Out Of My Life” or “Too Young To Go Steady,” or maybe try an album less perfectly suited to a romantic movie montage.