Summer is over, weeks of sunshine, swimming and late nights have all led to autumn. The fall equinox has passed; nightfall has begun to come to the window sooner and sooner. As seasons turn, exploring new music and old favorites is a tried and true way to navigate the change.
- Parallelograms – Linda Perhacs
“Parallelograms,” Perhacs’s debut album, was released in 1970. It failed to meet its audience upon release, but was rediscovered and is the reason Perhacs returned to her musical career over 40 years later.
The album is full of floating woodwinds and classic, simple folk guitar. The album is mostly a showcase of Perhacs’s voice. Her higher range is very smooth and frequently supplemented by similar parts, such as flutes, always like a soft wind.
The songs in the album stay slow and steady besides a few with more fire behind them, notably “Sandy Toes.” The patterns are evocative of Joan Baez. The mix is reminiscent of the lingering summer weather as fall begins to settle. Perhacs is good for a treat inside on a rainy day, the music is reverently nature-centered, gentle and almost maternal.
- Good Will Hunting Soundtrack
“Good Will Hunting” follows genius Will Hunting’s intelligence, personal relationships and turbulent past as he is helped by his therapist-turned-companion, Dr. Sean Maguire. “The Good Will Hunting Soundtrack” is a great mix of Elliott Smith and the Boston rock associated with the setting of “Good Will Hunting” – college life at Harvard with lots of Irish presence and influence. Hunting is a very reserved, distant character, which is reflected in the soundtrack.
Hunting has a romantic, yet troubled persona. He is most comfortable at a local bar with his friends. The bar has some Celtic influence, which can also be found in the soundtrack. “Fisherman’s Blues” is a classic Celtic rock song that features traditional Irish fiddle in the back of the chorus.
The soundtrack presents the back-to-school blues mixed with some uplifting alternative pop songs. All about turning pages, it is raw and chilly, but also cinematic.
- Five Leaves Left – Nick Drake
“Five Leaves Left” is Drake’s debut studio album. It was released in 1969 and sold few copies because of Drake’s tragic death in 1974. Drake’s music has reached an international audience since and fans continue to wonder how his career would have been affected had his success reached him in his lifetime.
“Five Leaves Left” is an album that chronicles the transition from summer to fall. It is optimistic, but not excited. It is a folk artist’s pop album. There are hints of subtle change, but Drake remains steady. The album is for watching the trees around you turn for winter.
Drake has become a staple in the indie folk scene. In his album, he strips the genre back as simple as it gets. His guitar and voice are supplemented by piano, cello and a few woodwinds. Chamber music had a heavy influence on “Five Leaves Left.” Drake is also a careful observer, shown through his lyricism. He muses about the nature and passage of time around him and his words let his mature and reserved viewpoint of the world seep through. The title of the album itself is an ode to autumn’s falling leaves.
- Sunset Mission – Bohren & Der Club of Gore
“Sunset Mission” is an album by the German quartet called Bohren & Der Club of Gore. “Bohren” in German translates to “drilling” and Gore is a Dutch band they all share a love for. The entire album is slow, instrumental, dark jazz. Physical copies were first released in 2000, then their label put the album on streaming services in 2016.
There are not many instruments on the album, and never more than three or four playing at a time. The production style is very minimal and so is the percussion. The loudest instrument throughout the whole album is the suspended cymbal towards the end of “Street Tattoo.” The bass lines were recorded on an upright bass instead of a bass guitar. It is rich in taste and even buzzes from time to time, successfully giving the bass a body of its own. The melodies are mostly saxophone with a bit of reverb to match the haziness in the background, which evokes a dreamlike cloud of sound.
“Painless Steel” is also similar to David Lynch. The synths might as well be from “Twin Peaks,” a series set in February, but nevertheless an autumn show: full of 90s midi skirts, pie with coffee and big fir trees swaying in the dark.
- The signals licking me – Micah Preite
“The signals licking me” shares a lot of acoustic elements with indie folk music, but it is an alternative, experimental interpretation of pop. It is also Preite’s 2022 debut album. Preite is more than familiar with the guitar; he’s a master of the fretboard and a jazz student, which makes for very intriguing music. His choices in instruments, composing and arrangement are all expert.
More evidence of Preite’s musicianship and creativity are the amount of improvisation on the album and the cover art. A quarter of the tracklist of his debut album is improvisation. When deciding the songs and order of the album, it is important to note that full, structured songs with lyrics were denied spots in favor of improvisation tracks. Catching him live is the best way to hear it. Preite also makes most, if not all of his cover art, and even sold some of his art at his shows last year. Also worth a listen is his Halloween album from last year, “Pulls So Fast.”
- Paint a Room – Chris Cohen
“Paint a Room” is Cohen’s 2024 alternative album. It escapes genre, but trails into jazz guitar, lush woodwind parts and Cohen’s gentle, spiderweb-like vocals lead to patches of sunshine and potentially The Great Pumpkin.
“Damage” starts the album off with a grand entrance of marching horns. However, within a few bars, it turns slow and observant, in line with the rest of the album. The quiet suits Cohen well. Even through upbeat songs, Cohen remains discreet and watchful. “Paint a Room” is executed very carefully, as if the song were fragile. Cohen is an attentive person and he allows the people around him to be represented in “Paint a Room” warmly, like a cozy sweater. Chris Cohen is similar to Arthur Russell – fans of one should know the other.
Whereas summer was bright and full of pop and rock, autumn lets the energy fall into a rhythm for recovery. As clouds dim the sunshine, a decrease in tempo follows the dropping temperatures. The transition from summer to fall can be harsh. New and old branches of folk and jazz, and room to think, are surely the cure for the season.
