Mount Eerie - Ocean Roar (2012)
You're in the midst of a driving rain storm. It is after dark. The highway is a blur. Between the wind and water and brake lights there is chaos. "Pale Lights" serves as a guide. It swirls and thrashes, much like the rest of the album. But it also gets quiet and demands focus. Throughout this album there are periods of desolation, peace and madness.
Low - Things We Lost in the Fire (2001)
There are few others that know how to capture the beauty and the lure of the darkness. A trusty companion when stepping into the shadows. Their voices sound so good that it hurts. They sing of sweetness while playing sadness. They lament ("Dinosaur Act"), name call ("Whore") and beg for grace ("Laser Beam"). Their quiet restraint demands reflection and seeks honesty.
Portishead - Roseland NYC Live (1998)
Few hold the cold the way that they do. There is longing in every line. This is one of those rare live recordings that manages to make the songs sound better than the studio tracks. The shadows are alive here. At one turn they are stabbing ("Cowboys"), at another they are practically crying ("Roads"). How can it all feel good? "Strangers" leaves you suspecting that those shadows are more powerful than you first believed.
The National - High Violet (2010)
They are telling your story. They are reading your thoughts and reshaping them as riddles. They are up late and drunk with "Sorrow" (It's in my honey, it's in my milk). Tragedy, fear, regret, loss, debt - the American dream. It's all very mixed up. But they are trying, with each defeat and in the face of dysfunction. With "Little Faith" they are trying.
Do you know how long the darkness lasts during Scandinavian winters? Look it up. It's a long time. As one half of the Knife, Karin Dreijer Andersson makes beautifully bizarre electronic music. As Fever Ray she does much of the same. It's twisted and at times spooky ("If I Had a Heart"). Her voice is everywhere, traveling through twilight and over the snow covered darkness. Yet, at times she almost seems playful despite the absence of the sun. Brewed in the shadows with memories of the light, a sense of return is almost ever present.
Besides perhaps some of El-P's work, I cannot think of a colder rap record. This is living in the streets, fighting for a dollar, unsure of friend or foe type of cold. And the centerpiece is "Cold World" which captures the utter hopelessness that exists in the inner city. This is a lonely, wind-blown wasteland. The gritty, leaky basement production that is undeniably Wu-Tang has never communicated so much on its own. There is no filler, no wasted breath. There is only a single minded focus on survival and the dark deeds that are required to ensure it.
M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts (2004)
Look at the cover art. Are they dead? Or maybe they're taking a break to admire the endless grey sky and falling snow? Perhaps they're just making snow angels? The music will not provide many clues. It seems all three could be true. Soaring over mountains and tumbling into valleys, making what has become traditionally epic electronic soundscapes, you are forced to feel the frozen grass and bleakness of the plains while clinging to the hope that the trees and the hills beyond hold more warmth. "On a White Lake, Near a Green Mountain" turns into "Run Into Flowers" or vice versa.
