Three Albums That Help Me Get Through

By Anna Keyser
Music Journalist 

In the atmosphere that we are all living in right now, I usually turn to music to keep my thoughts at ease. I want to share with you some of the albums that make me feel all the good-feels and even all the bad-feels because feeling all of your feels is okay.

Each of these albums isn’t necessarily ranked in any way but they all mean something different to me, and hopefully, you can find something for yourself within them too.

The first time I listened to this album, I felt like I traveled back in time and was listening to my younger self’s thoughts. Ambar Lucid in her first album, Dreaming Lucid, gives you youth, jazz and soul with her delicate voice.

Nostalgia has a powerful sense, and it’s one of those feelings that can make you feel happy or sad. This album has both, for looking back at all of those youthful years and cringing at everything you did.

The first track I recommend you listen to first is “A letter to my younger self.” Lucid sings “A little view of the past I promise all of this is not gonna last,” to her mother and her younger self. It’s a self-assuring song that brings a lot of sentiment to life. She then finishes the phrase by singing, “Trust me I know.”

The next album on my list is Good For You by Aminé, the album that gave us the single “Caroline.” This was basically the anthem for my whole senior year of high school. This is one of those albums that I can listen to entirely and feel hype like no other simply because each track is a hit.

The feeling that I would give this album is carefree. I can sit in my car, bedroom or even my couch, turn up the volume and vibe all the way until the last track. How about we think of it like this; that scene in The Perks of Being A Wallflower when they’re driving in the tunnel at night with the music turned all the way up, that’s what this album feels like to me.

The top three tracks, personally, are “Heebiejeebies,” “Spice Girl” and “Hero”. At this point, I just know you already have the whole album saved to your playlists.

Now for the feeling of frustration and self-sabotage, all of the feelings involved in becoming an adult and realizing you’re tired of self-doubt but not sure what to do next. That’s okay because this album is here to help!

I present to you the infamous Paramore with their 2017 studio album After Laughter. This album just brings me so much joy, even though it’s lyrically filled with dark undertones above an 80’s sound.

But that’s exactly it; everyone at this age is faking it, it’s a mirage illusioned by 80’s pop music. Some of us are still looking for the simplicities of love or wishing that the hard times would pass and stop kicking us down.

“Hard Times,” “Forgiveness,” “Fake Happy” and “Caught in the Middle” are just some of my all-time favorites, but as I said previously and like I’ll say now, this whole album is fantastically fun and takes my mind off of things instantly.

Which brings us back to the beginning of it all, music is an outlet that you should use whenever necessary. These albums have given me some comfort at times when I needed them most so I hope they can do the same for you.

Featured Image by Anna Keyser.