Playlists + albums to start your October 🍂

ft. Vagabon, Romy, Del Water Gap, and more

Oct 02, 2023

The summer-to-fall shift is always my favorite time for playlisting — there’s something about the switch to hoodies, hot coffee, and horror movies that sparks a wave of nostalgia and more focused listening. Recently I tapped into these feelings, devolving into full self-parody as a 31-year-old white guy when I went to a Death Cab For Cutie and Postal Service show, solo. The bands played Transatlanticism and Give Up back-to-back, revisiting those 2003 albums with a sleek, modern stage setup that brought their sounds into the future. Over at Pitchfork, Jill Mapes wrote a great piece on the “Peak Millennial Nostalgia” of this tour, and this distinct feeling of hearing songs from your youth in a new light.

But as always, I’m still looking for new sounds to pair with these comfy old favorites. So here’s a list of 5 albums worth discovering — I hope there’s something in this batch you’ll be excited to hear again at a twentieth-anniversary concert in 2043.

5 new albums to hear

As always, standout songs from all the albums below are in the Hear Hear playlist.

Aperture, Hannah Jadagu. The debut album from this 20-year-old NYU student veers “from indie rock to electronic to warped R&B,” as Jon Pareles writes in an NYT feature. [Highlights: “Letter To Myself” + “Lose”]

Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling, Slaughter Beach, Dog. This album of warm, lush “conversational folk-hued rock” (as Josh Terry put it in his newsletter) has been making me smile, recalling old favorites like Noah And The Whale and Bright Eyes. Lead singer Jake Ewald also curates a monthly playlist of songs to soundtrack your walks — a good one to save! [Highlights: “Strange Weather” + “Summer Windows”]

Sorry I Haven’t Called, Vagabon. Vagabon’s sound has changed over the years, evolving from the lo-fi rock of her 2017 debut. On this stellar new album produced with Rostam, she “changes shape once more,” writes Pitchfork’s Mary Retta, “resulting in bright and dewy electro-pop songs with more rhythmic dimension.” [Highlights: “Can I Talk My Shit?” + “Lexicon”]

Mid Air, Romy. You know Romy’s voice from her influential band the xx — but Mid Air is her first solo record, and it’s a dancey delight with an emotional undercurrent. For The New Yorker, Carrie Battan wrote a great review explaining how the album draws on “Eurodance, the oontz-oontzy stepchild of house and techno.” Fittingly, Romy curated a playlist called “Emotional Music To Dance To” featuring her collaborations with Fred again.. alongside similar vibes. [Highlights: “Strong” + “Weightless”]

I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet, Del Water Gap. By now, longtime readers of this newsletter should know Del Water Gap, the solo project of songwriter S. Holden Jaffe. Over the years, Jaffe has built a remarkable catalog of catchy jams — from stellar Americana-style singles and EPs in the mid-2010s, to big synthy pop-rock songs on his 2021 self-titled record. On this stellar new album, his ever-expansive sound gets even bigger, with undeniable arena anthems and more addicting choruses. Fresh off a fun How Long Gone podcast appearance, DWG is about to embark on a big North American tour — I highly recommend catching his excellent live set. [Highlights: “Losing You” + “Quilt of Steam” + “Coping on Unemployment”]

5 playlists for Fall 2023 🍁

pumpkin spice lattes in the mountains from Kasey’s Playlist // ft. Noah Kahan, Hozier, Big Thief, Phoebe Bridgers, Caamp // I just discovered the hyper-specific playlists of Kasey Gelsomino thanks to Flipboard’s Art Of Curation podcast, and so glad I did. On this one, she taps into the “Stomp and Holler revival” led by Kahan’s sweet songs. (Covered nicely in this Vulture piece: “How Noah Kahan Became Gen Z’s Mumford And Sons.”)
Body Between Weather, Mind Between Seasons from cultural critic Hanif Abduraqqib // ft. Miguel, Tasha, Nick Hakim, Tennis, MICHELLE // Per Abduraqqib’s Instagram, this playlist was really meant as an ode to “Lower Summer” in the early days of September, but it’s still an expertly curated mix that I couldn’t pass on sharing.
Autumn Rotation. 🍂 from curator Patrick Mahan// ft. Kate Bush, Mitski, The Replacements, Night Moves // In his newsletter Carefully Curated, Mahan shared his 11th annual Autumn playlist, mixing new and classic songs with a seasonal vibe.
fall2023 from playlist connoisseur Adam Sharp // ft. Jess Williamson, Sun June, Zach Bryan, Wilco // Mostly folky tunes to capture the golden season, perfect for sleepy mornings and early sunsets.
feels like fall from content strategist Maya Kosoff // ft. Dr. Dog, Taylor Swift, The Cranberries, The Smiths, Yo La Tengo // A wonderfully nostalgic mix from Kosoff, who just launched a new editorial consulting agency. 👀

New songs from Hear Hear faves

As usual, there has been way too much music to keep track of over the past couple months, so I just dropped a bunch of new stuff into the Hear Hear playlist, including:

Songs I’ve been loving from Beatenberg, Omar Apollo, Katy Kirby, Middle Kids, Bleachers, The Staves, Jamila Woods, Ryan Beatty, and Hozier ft. Brandi Carlile…
And album highlights from Ratboys, Mapache, Walter Etc, Olivia Rodrigo, and The National.

A couple of good music reads…

“Why Gen X Dads Can Appreciate Olivia Rodrigo” from Jay Caspian Kang

“Listening to Guts while driving my daughter to soccer practice in our van — an activity that can only really be described with self-effacing irony — I could still drag up the vestiges of my own adolescent rage. It was a pleasant experience — me, a quarter century removed from the intensity of teen-age feeling, and my daughter, hopefully at least ten years away from the same, both living through the nineties again.”

“Discography Deep Dive: Vampire Weekend” from Josh Terry

“They’re easy to rag on but dig deep and you’ll find some of the finest, most joyful, and most adventurous pop music of this century.”

More playlists tracking the best music of 2023 (so far)

23 Great Songs from 2023 So Far from director James Gunn. Known for top-tier needle-drops in his work on Guardians of the Galaxy and the good Suicide Squad, Gunn’s playlist introduced me to some fun new bands like Prima Queen, JAWNY, and quinine.

Flux Focus Trax Summer 2023 from Fluxblog’s Matthew Perpetua. A well-sequenced, 76-song mix “of top-quality music from the first 8 months of 2023” — including Jungle, Miguel ft. Lil Yachty, Dijon, Tinashe, Crumb and more.

Hear Hear