Image Credit: Lorna Carvell

Droplets of rain and early morning mists. Ripples on the surface of a pond. An ever-changing path of yellow, orange, brown. A leaf preparing to take flight as it rustles, shakes, and breaks off – fluttering like a moth from branch to branch. It lands by your boot, and looks up at you. You’re bundled up in your jumper, gloves, scarf. A flask of tea raised to your chapped lips. The steam comes out in little swirls. You have taken out your phone, wishing to find the right song for this scene. You find an article recommending “Ten Albums for the Cosy Season”. Wishing to know more, you begin to read.

1. Pink Moon by Nick Drake

Image Credit: Island Records

Known for its soft acoustic sound, this album is an absolute classic. Despite only spanning 28 minutes, Pink Moon contains so much depth. There is a gentle, almost haunting, melancholy to this album, as the elusive Nick Drake offers us a window into his innermost thoughts and emotions. The songs appear very stripped back – it’s just a man with a guitar and piano – however, there is a quiet power in this simplicity. With this minimal style, warm sounds and natural imagery, this album would be excellent for a cosy evening. 

2. Between the Moon and the Milkman by Amelia Coburn 

Image Credit: Quiet Crown

Having previously been the opening act for the punk/folk band The Levellers, Coburn approaches music in some very experimental ways. If you’re a fan of clever lyricism and folklore, Between the Moon and the Milkman is the perfect album for you. Each song is a new and fantastical tale to tell. Inspired by fairy stories in particular, Coburn likes to add her own feminist twist to these dark and gothic tales. This passionate and vivacious folk album is essential for the dark witching hours of winter.

3. Fisherman’s Blues by the Waterboys

Image Credit: Ensign Records

Known as one of the best live bands in the world, The Waterboys are an excellent choice for the ultimate autumn festival. A celtic band, The Waterboys take inspiration from Irish and Scottish folk, playing the fiddle and strings with a soulful liveliness. Each song has a raw intensity which comes out in different ways, from the absolute belter of ‘World Party’ to the warmth and beauty of ‘Sweet Thing’. This album is brilliant for fun evenings around the campfire. 

4. Acoustic by Oumou Sangaré    

Image Credit: Nø Førmat 

With each track played in one take, Acoustic was recorded without headphones or amplification. In an interview with What The France, Sangaré states that this approach created an “intimate atmosphere that allowed us to let go and play spontaneously”. An album characterised by the layered plucking of strings, female voices and powerful Wassoulou lyrics, this masterpiece delves into ideas of women’s rights, familial bonds and Sangaré’s ties with her home in Mali. As Sangaré states in the same interview, she wanted her sound to be “natural, without any effects.” Therefore, if you want to “unplug” yourself and appreciate the beauty of the cosy season, this is the album for you. 

5. Blue by Joni Mitchell 

Image Credit: Reprise Records

For those autumn walks in the rain, this album provides the most beautiful ambience. Featuring mainly a guitar, piano and voice, this album has a similar stripped back quality to the work of Nick Drake. However, with Mitchell’s voice comes a completely different experience. With her impressive vocal range, her songs are full of raw emotion, tugging greatly at the heart strings. Her lyrics are profound and poetical, and leave you feeling devastated, cleansed, joyful and heartbroken all at once. An immersive experience perfect for those pondering, rainy walks. 

6. Coyote Stories by The Crane Wives 

Image Credit: The Crane Wives

If you are looking for something more uplifting during the colder months, Coyote Stories is certainly the place to start. Renowned for their distinctive three-part harmonies, The Crane Wives create a soulful, ethereal atmosphere. Exploring themes of hardships and facing fears, this album is greatly empowering in its stories of hope and self-discovery. Each word is selected with care, as the band intertwines bold storytelling with beautiful, serene sounds. An absolute essential for the colder, darker times ahead when motivation is scarce. 

7. Aventine by Agnes Obel 

Image Credit: PIAS Recordings

This album brings an atmosphere both beautiful and mellow. Characterised by its soft piano, gentle harmonies and deep, dreamlike cello, this album is great for a cosy wind down. With abstract lyrics sung by Obel’s haunting voice, Aventine has a beauty which seeps into the soul and lingers long after it has ended. As Caroline Sullivan beautifully writes in The Guardian, Obel has a talent for “sculpting strings and piano into beautifully melancholy ripples”. It is truly a “wonderful autumn album”. 

8. Levelling the Land by The Levellers

Image Credit: China Records

Fuelled with liveliness and a riot of colour, Levelling the Land has a bold, loud, and powerful sound. A genre-merging experience, this album fuses both the raw intensity of punk with the traditional instrumentation of folk. Packed with politically charged lyrics, Levelling the Land carries an incredibly energetic feel, with complex percussive elements and the layering of many stringed instruments. Essential for the ultimate autumn festival or a dance around the bonfire. 

9. Crosby, Stills and Nash by Crosby, Stills and Nash

Image Credit: Atlantic Records

Taking inspiration from folk and blues, this eponymous album is an absolute classic. Like The Crane Wives, Crosby, Stills and Nash are renowned for their classic three-part harmonies. However, this band brings a completely different experience. Their voices are lower, gentler. Their vocals blend to create an intimate atmosphere which takes the listener on a softly meandering journey. Accompanied with a gentle blues guitar, this album carries a simplistic, minimalist feel. There is a particular warmth here, evoking nostalgic feelings for autumn leaves and misty mornings. 

10. Rumours by Fleetwood Mac

Image Credit:Warner Bros. Records

Believed to be one of the “greatest albums of all time” according to American Songwriter, this album “drips with emotion”. An album fraught with passion, rejection and jealousy, each track is full of raw emotion which mirrors the real-life tensions amongst the band. From absolute classics such as ‘The Chain’, ‘Go Your Own Way’ and ‘Dreams’, Rumours brings a mix of folk, blues and rock. Mystical lyricism and Stevie Nicks’ haunting vocals combine in this masterpiece to create a witchy, dark, and beautiful atmosphere perfect for the darker months. 

…

You reach the end of the article. The last blushes of autumn are fading now as the season sighs into winter. You notice the delicate leaf by your boot. It has been there for a while, fluttering slightly in the breeze, deliberating. It twitches. It folds over. It hesitates. Pondering. Then, in one quick movement – it’s gone. 

You look back at your phone. A song has come to mind. 

You press play.