Battlemouth

People listen to music for a number of various reasons. It could be to rev everyone up before hitting town for a night out, as a atmospheric-building accompaniment to a romantic dinner, and so forth. No matter why people listen to the various forms of music that they do, everyone has a core set of songs or albums that they use to centre themselves or “reboot”, whether they know it or not.

On occasion, I’ve taken the opportunity to attempt to generate lists from my personal music collection. Whether I tried to make a “best of” or a more targeted list, I often found that certain albums seem to appear more repetitively than others. After some reflection, I worked out that these were my core albums; not necessarily what I’d class as the best albums in my collection, but those I rely on to reboot myself.

This list (in no particular order) isn’t comprised of my top five reboot albums, but more the five albums that most represent the music of my core set. Everyone will have their own variation on this list, so please feel free to share yours in the comments below.

Mogwai: Happy Songs for Happy People (2003)

Masters of the post-rock genre, though they’re not fond of that label, Mogwai bring us an album that’s the most representative of their style. Albeit a bit grim at times, in stark contrast to the album title, the primarily instrumental tracks deliver a lush musical soundscape that provides a phenomenal soundtrack for everyday life.

Ranging from full “wall of sound” aural assaults to sparsely populated meanderings that are rich with subtleties, Happy Songs for Happy People prove that Mogwai are indeed masters of their trade. This album touches some part of the psyche, soothing and charging the listener; the loneliness and estrangement within the music somehow providing a measure of comfort.

Sample Track: “Hunted by a Freak”

The Decemberists: Picaresque (2005)

Picaresque is a well-crafted album, polished to a diamond-shine by one of the best indie music writers alive, Colin Meloy. The Decemberists are bright stars in the Pacific Northwest music scene, and their brand of indie folk rock is the musical epitome of this scene while remaining distinct enough to make them stand out.

This album retains the band’s storytelling approach, delivered through upbeat pop-like folk or instrumentally lush ballads. The Decemberists are indie music for the common man, easily appealing to the mainstream, and the “everyman” feel of Picaresque brings a heartening reassurance to the listener.

Sample track: “The Engine Driver”

Sigur Rós: Ágætis byrjun (1999)

Ethereal and mysterious, this album transcends all preconceptions about it. Ágætis byrjun is named from the Icelandic for “a good beginning”, and this name rings true as the songs flow over the listener. The music is so surreal and the vocals so angelic, that the listener can’t help but experience feelings of peace and serenity; almost as if the album is meditative.

Not a word of English is sung in this album, yet one simply doesn’t care. Jónsi Birgisson’s voice is used simply as an instrument, and matches perfectly with the music’s orchestrations. As one listens to this album, it is easy to “zen” out and feel the world’s worries slip away for a time. It’s no wonder that Ágætis byrjun has often been listed as one of the best album of the 2000s.

Shearwater: Rook (2008)

Receiving near-universal critical acclaim, this album marks Shearwater’s biggest step into independence from their Okkervil River off-shoot origins. Flexing their musical muscles, the band delves deeper and wider into their influences to produce an album that is truly stunning to listen to. Rook is the centrepiece in a triptych studying nature and man’s relationship with it, and it stands clear as the strongest album of the three.

Singer Jonathan Meiburg’s voice is a wonder to hear, and provides the anchor for the band’s multi-instrumentalist compositions. Rook is carefully orchestrated, but does not lose any of its soul in the process. Full of soaring grandeur, yet imbued with appropriate humility, Rook is an aural work of art that is a feast for the ears.

Sample track: “Rooks”

Tool: Lateralus (2001)

An album doesn’t need to be mellow to do wonders for the soul. Tool more than proves this with their third studio album, Lateralus. The album builds on the band’s alternative metal past while injecting the minimal ambience of post-metal. While there is an unsettling mood that permeates much of the album, it is countered nicely with a soothing air of psychedelica.

Tool have become forerunners in the world of progressive metal, and Lateralus neatly marks the turning point between their heavier past and the mentalism of their successive music. The relatively complex songs within the album fires up some animal element in the listener with their howling crescendos, yet calms the soul with short surreal journeys.