Fall Rummage Sale: Albums for the End-of-Year Close Out

Jasmine Meshell

Music Journalist

Autumn has finally arrived. You could say it began with the cold front that came in September but, that’s what I like to call ‘false fall’. That is until our dearest November comes along to offer relief from the heat. That being said, fall is the time to flaunt the very best pieces from our closets. The time to pull out the knit sweaters, statement jackets, and the reminiscent sounds that have been stashed in the back of the closet. Here’s a look through the seven different genres and albums for you to try on for size this season. This Fall rotation tastes like apple cider, smells like cookies in the oven, feels like the leaves rushing past your feet in the breeze, pulls your jacket further around your body, and looks like a leather jacket with a hoodie.

YOU’D PREFER AN ASTRONAUT – HUM

Listening locale: Parked on a Garage rooftop, facing the lit-up city, under the open sky, bundled in an oversized faded zip-up.

Hum’s You’d Prefer an Astronaut is the embodiment of moody girl shoegaze.

Hum leans into dropped tuning, distorted guitar, and echoing reverb creating an intimate, atmospheric sound. Many tracks from the album dip between loud and soft, such as their top song “Stars” which pulls you into a haze like the layer of light sitting above the horizon. “I Hate It Too” is one of my particular favorites for the intimacy of being able to hear Matt Talbot’s voice over the music for almost half of the song before their usual enveloping sound fades in, capturing the emotional gravity of late autumn. This album’s mix with pieces such as “Why I Like The Robins” and “The Pod” smells of crisp cigarette smoke blowing past your face by keeping the vocals low and the guitars high.

SPEAK FOR YOURSELF – IMOGEN HEAP

Listening Locale: Driving 85 mph down I-35 through the night lights leaving Austin, smudged eyeliner, legs crossed in a black mini skirt over black tights tucked into a pair of Doc Martens

Speak for Yourself is an intricately layered album blending electronica with Heap’s haunting, ethereal voice. “Headlock” opens with a sparkling synth melody over an intensely building orchestra, while “The Walk” is a dark storm of vulnerability and resolution. “Closing In” brings a sense of urgency, with dense textures and dramatic shifts leading into the closing track.

93’ TIL INFINITY – SOULS OF MISCHIEF

Listening Locale: A day at the Saturday thrift market outside Town Hall, swimming in a pair of dark wash jeans.

Souls of Mischief’s album is free-flowing and freeing with each lyric and every bass lick. Tajai’s effortless flow mixed with the sample of “Summer in the City” heard in their song “Anything Can Happen” creates an undeniable cinematic quality. The title track is especially comforting, mixing soul samples with warm, rolling drums made for a crisp fall stroll.

BADUIZM – ERYKAH BADU

Listening Locale: A gentle Sunday morning rise, freshly brewed pot of coffee, grooving on the cold wood floor in loose overalls and chunky gold and turquoise jewelry

Erykah Badu’s Baduizm is the rich and smoky aroma of the first drops of espresso slowly falling into the pot. Baduizm combines neo-soul with R&B and Jazz elements through layering deep bass, brushed drums, and Badu’s rich vocal timbre. This is perfectly shown on track 3, “Appletree”, with Badu gliding over a deep, subtly swinging, bluesy bassline. This record, having been recorded analog to tape, has a soothing and inviting quality. Badu breathes this kind of life through “Otherside of the Game” with soft piano chords and slow-driving bass and drum framing her earnest storytelling. Following its sultry piano introduction, “Certainly” sophisticatedly plays with key characteristics from multiple genres, funk, neo-soul, jazz, and a hint of blues.

SHOOTING RUBBERBANDS AT THE STARS – EDIE BRICKELL & NEW BOHEMIANS

Listening Locale: Walking, be it through campus or the square or the park, orange leaves swirling around your feet in a burgundy mock neck knit sweater

Edie Brickell’s debut album weaves elements of neo-psychedelia with folk-rock shaping a dreamy, golden atmosphere. Best expressed through consecutive tracks, “The Air of December” with its sparkling percussion and airy vocals, “The Wheel’s” nostalgic chord progression, and “Love Like We Do” with its fun, b-52’s like melody.

PARANOID & SUNBURNT – SKUNK ANANSIE

Listening Locale: A late-night snack run to Gumby’s and Insomnia, overdressed in a faux-fur leopard print long coat

Paranoid and Sunburnt captures raw emotion and powerful social commentary through female enraged metal. In “100 Ways to Be a Good Girl,” Skin rages against conformity, while she exposes herself through “Weak” as she ironically cries out “Weak as I am, No tears for you”. With biting lyrics, “Charity” is a superior song to scream out amid end-of-semester burnout.

PLUMB – JONATHA BROOKE AND THE STORY

Listening Locale: Reading in Green Heron on the velvet couch in the back, draped in a long brown skirt, watching birds flutter outside.

Plumb is pure intimacy; Brooke’s gentle, roots rock blend with her poetic and almost confessional lyrics feels as comforting as the scent of used book pages and warm tea. Songs like “Nothing Sacred” and “No Better” have an immediacy, a quiet intensity that invites self-reflection. Brooke’s voice is soft yet pointed, and her acoustic guitar picking on songs like “Paris” and “West Point” is delicate like rain against windows. It has the warmth of an analog recording with her voice, every breath, crack, and vibrato seeping directly into your ear. This album is for the quiet, reflective days of fall when the world feels just a little softer.

Honorable Mentions

Selena – Dreaming of You (1995)

Bôa – Whiplash (2024)

Vashti Bunyan – Just Another Diamond Day (1970)

Tyler, The Creator – CHROMAKOPIA (2024)

Boards of Canada – Music Has a Right to Children (1998)