I’m in the mood for something soft and melancholy. Usually I’ll turn to my ever dependable Radiohead, Coldplay, Jeff Buckley, Massive Attack… I’m thinking of getting the Unbelievable Truth’s ‘Almost Here’.
Any other suggestions?
The Shins: “Oh, Inverted World”
PJ Harvey is always sinister, at least the old stuff.
Soft and melancholy? Well, given the other ones you mentioned, this may be a bit too soft for you, but I just picked up the American Beauty score (not the soundtrack, they’re two different discs), and it’s definitely soft and definitely melancholy.
I can recommend Goldfrapp’s Felt Mountain, anything by The Tindersticks, Red Snapper’s Prince Blimey, South’s From Here On In, David Holmes’ Let’s Get Killed, Air’s Moon Safari (but not their new album), the self-titled first Stone Roses album, Turns Into Stone by The Stone Roses, and a few oldies by The Verve, Ride or The Charlatans.
Almost any Ben Harper album has some really nice soft tunes, but they also have some rockers too. One of the discs in the new live double disc set, “Live From Mars”, is all acoustic. Its great.
Katatonia’s Discouraged Ones is soft and melancholy - very relaxing.
David Gray, White Ladder
If you want REAL melancholy, try some Joy Division. Be warned- you might kill yourself.
Absolutely, no doubt about it, run do not walk, do not delay and pick up LUNA - “Penthouse”. It is one of the most beautiful mellow albums I have in my collection.
Ah, Vinnie’s Joy Division suggestion reminded me of one other classic – The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths.
Thanks for all your recommendations. I’ve listed them down for my trip to the CD store tomorrow.
Crusoe - Air’s Moon Safari is one album I’ve been wanting to try for a while now. Thanks for reminding me. Verve’s ‘No Come Down + B-Sides’ is one of my faves.
Kyomara - Which PJ Harvey should I try? ‘Rid of Me’? I liked ‘Stories from the City etc’, for her duet with Thom Yorke.
Vinnie - I’m a bit of a Joy Division fan myself already. I was listening to ‘Closer’ this morning in fact. But I’m not in the mood for anything ‘too’ depressing for the rest of the week.
That rules out most of my Smiths CDs then…
Keep those suggestions coming please.
Adam Cohen- self titled. Fairly soft, and heart-breakingly melancholy. Of course, if you don’t have their cds yet, Toad The Wet Sproket fits the fill too.
Melancholy is my forte.
Rufus Wainwright His first album, self-titled. Beautiful, lush, strange, heartbreaking.
Red House Painters Anything by them. Simple, vast, and depressed.
Lullaby for the Working Class I Never Even Asked For Light An amazing album, by a sorely neglected band.
Morphine The Night Funky depression.
There’s a guy named Connor Oberst, who goes by the name Bright Eyes. Great songwriter, seriously disturbed. Capable of some incredible emotional impact. See if you can find Fevers and Mirrors.
For incredible melancholy, you can’t do better than Cat Power’s Moon Pix. Backed up by the Dirty Three.
You also need to go find some Low. Preferably The Curtain Hits the Cast
Some band names to consider as well…
Idaho
Mojave 3
Radar Bros
Ida
Rocky Votolato
The Softies
Wheat
I used to do a late-night radio show on a community station. Obviously, I miss it. Of course, the suicide rate’s gone down dramatically since I quit…
If you want soft and melancholy, get Nick Drake’s Pink Moon. If you’ll settle for just melancholy, get Tool’s Lateralus.
I agree with Ben Harper, I’d pick up Live from Mars (2nd disc is acoustic) and Fight for your Mind… he is an amazing artist!
and also some Nick Drake…
“Murmur” by REM is arguably the greatest CD of all time.
Great suggestions so far (and a big tick next to the box for Cat Power’s Moon Pix album). Here are a few more beautiful, melancholy records that have appealed to me lately.
Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen. Old Lenny actually is far funnier than most people give him credit for, but its a wry sort of humour that is steeped in melancholy (if that makes sense). Also fantastic is Songs of Love and Hate.
Nick Cave - The Boatman’s Call and And No More Shall We Part. All of his records are great, but his last two have been much smoother.
John Cale - Fragments of a Rainy Season. An incredible live solo record, with the definitive ‘sad’ version of Heartbreak Hotel, not to mention the version of Hallelujah which Jeff Buckley covered.
The Dirty 3 - Self Titled (sometimes called Torn and Frayed after the record label it was on). All instrumental with a beautiful, unique guitar/violin/drums lineup. Until their live album later this year, their debut should stand as their best work.
Paradise Motel - Still Life. I don’t know if this record is available in America, but this Aussie band, who unfortunately broke up a year or two ago, almost made it big in England. This is the best evocation of sad music since the heyday of Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, etc. Too amazing for words.
Nico - Chelsea Girl. An unusual record made at the time she was in the Velvet Underground, this features the first recordings of songs by Lou Reed, Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne (how many other debut records can claim that?!?). Her next couple of records were more artistically amazing, but this one is the easiest to listen to and just enjoy, end to end. nb. It was partly because of the performances that Nico did around the time of this record that Leonard Cohen decided to become a folk singer.
BTW, I obviously took ‘New music’ to mean music you might not be familiar with, rather than recent releases.
Delbert McClinton - Nothing Personal ---- very worth buying, trust me.
Cowboy Junkies - “The Trinity Session”
I think you’d really enjoy The Cocteau Twins. The Pink Opaque is a good place to start, along with Blue-Bell Knoll and Treasure. Actually, just about anything by them is good.
I’ll pipe in with Belle & Sebastian’s Boy With The Arab Strap. Sounds like just what you’re looking for.
I’ll second Air’s Moon Safari, too.
Possibly, also, you might enjoy I Often Dream Of Trains by Robyn Hitchcock.