Willow AustinAutumn cascades through our fair city in a sea of orange and red, changing the river valley in a rich tapestry of crunchy leaves and brisk winds. Take a stroll through Edmonton on one of these gorgeous fall days and take a second to appreciate the beauty of it all. Here are eight songs that’ll set the perfect mood for a midday walk through the river valley. Pop in your headphones, put on some comfy shoes, and enjoy the surprisingly amazing views this city has to offer during our brief fall season.
Edmonton – The Rural Alberta Advantage
What better way to celebrate our city than with a song dedicated to it? The Rural Alberta Advantage has a stripped down, but ferocious take on what it means to be a indie-rock band; utilizing a bare bones drum setup, an acoustic guitar, and a keyboard, they’re constantly expanding the horizons for what can be accomplished with a trio of gifted musicians. Edmonton is the perfect song for those melancholy afternoons filled with thoughts of home. Singer Nils Edenloff’s voice sounds like honey poured over pine needles as he belts out line after line of tribute to our fair city.
Leaves Trees Forest – Dan Mangan
Surrounded by falling leaves and turning trees, it really helps set the mood to have a song that directly talks about leaves, trees, and forests. Mangan soothes the soul with his rough-but-sweet vocal stylings. Using ambient noise just as much as an ordinary instrument, Mangan has a talent for creating musical soundscapes that transport the listener to a different world. Lyrically, this song beckons back to the borderline nonsensical ways of Bob Dylan. Mangan poetically sings, “My heart is a ghost, and he drinks and he smokes and he keeps me awake”. While the words may not make sense all of the time, the feeling behind the song will be enough to keep this song on repeat all day.
The World At Large – Modest Mouse
Autumn often makes us think of escape, of packing a bag and just leaving, and trying to find a place where we belong. Modest Mouse perfectly captures the longing for escape that we all sometimes feel. Following a drifter on his journey across the nation trying to find himself, this track is the perfect mix of prose, catchiness, and underlying truth. A massive peak in their catalog, this track is home to one of Modest Mouse’s most iconic lines, “I know that starting over’s not what life’s about, but my thoughts were so loud I couldn’t hear my mouth.” For those days when you just want to hitchhike across the country and find yourself, this track will be your bible.
Skinny Love – Bon Iver
A playlist filled with melancholy indie songs would be utterly incomplete if it didn’t include the inconquerable Bon Iver. Released on what would later be known as one of the most important albums of the 2000s, Skinny Love stands as a track that can simultaneously make you laugh, cry, and want to curl up with a huge blanket for the rest of the day. Masterfully using a combination of voices along with slow but powerful strumming, Bon Iver created an anthem that will continue to be known as one of the most memorable folk songs ever.
Long Time Ago – Current Swell
This song is the ultimate song to play while making that sad transition between summer and autumn. ‘Long Time Ago’ pulls you in with that gorgeous strumming intro, then keeps you there, making you think of summers gone by and the good memories they hold. Current Swell—a Canadian band from Victoria, BC—really harnesses the chill vibe of their hometown, carrying it through their music. Put your headphones on, kick back with this song and let the nostalgia of some of your best summer moments play through your mind.
Fool For Love – Lord Huron
Lord Huron has a way of telling stories with each of their songs and ‘Fool For Love’ is one of their best. The song starts with a meditative mixture of distant sounds, including bells, the drone of an organ, and the plucking of strings. What comes after, however, is a striking, upbeat tune that plays background to a narrative of a vintage love affair. The combination of Ben Schneider’s vocals and the song’s melodic ebb and flow plunges you right into the middle of the scene. This is the perfect jam for getting over that summer-fling you had and getting back into the groove to find a cuddle-buddy for the colder months ahead (disregard the part in the song where he literally dies for his lover).
Down in the Valley – The Head and the Heart
This folky tune offers listeners a remarkably wistful atmosphere as Josiah Johnson and Jonathan Russell croon about uselessness and homesickness. An absolutely beautiful song through-and-through, ‘Down In The Valley’ carries you through melodic valleys and peaks, making you wish you were somewhere exploring. The band has fabulous harmonies and their use of strings and keys in this song is great, especially as they lead to the build up at the end. Listen to this song and go on a mini-adventure in Edmonton’s River Valley—it won’t disappoint.
Sweet Disposition – Temper Trap
Temper Trap’s Dougy Mandagi’s voice in ‘Sweet Disposition’ might be one of the most captivating things you come across this season. If you don’t already know this song, make sure you crank it up the first time you listen—the song’s excellent percussion and melodic swell will blow you away. As the colours outside change and the air gets cooler, this song will provide you with the ideal ambiance as you stroll around campus with your earbuds in and your mind elsewhere. Fair warning: you will automatically feel like you’re in a movie scene when you listen to this song.
