Albums to get you out of the winter blues

By Dabrowka Nowak, Third Year, English

So, what is one to do, when it is dark and cold at 4pm and curling up with some Mitski seems like the most appropriate cause of action? Break these old habits through exploring different music! Here is a brief list of albums I recommend to lift you away from the winter blues. Use this music to reconnect with the world around you, notice the little things, and before you know it, winter will be over.

Firstly, it is important to mention the classics. If you are more of an optimist than me, then perhaps you won’t be averse to listening to typically summer albums all year round. These are some albums that energise and uplift.

Boney M’s Take The Heat Off Me will have you dancing. Bob Marley’s Exodus, of course, is perfectly sunny. Queen’s Night at the Opera, Jazz and The Game bring thrills and pure fun, along with energy boosts from Ramones’ and The Special’s self-titled albums. You can never go wrong with some uplifting indie (MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular, Arctic Monkey’s Favourite Worst Nightmare), or some pop (Paramore’s self-titled, Chappel Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Cosmic Thing by the B-52S).

These are fabulous, positive albums, yet perhaps you, like me, still long for a more wintery, atmospheric feel that simultaneously lifts the spirit.

So, onto my personal recommendations. Below is a list of albums across a few genres, which bring me joy and comfort, especially in the winter months. Winter can feel all-consumingly lengthy, so sometimes it may help to zoom into yourself and notice the small, beautiful details which can unexpectedly bring joy. Or alternatively, music can bring a glorious burst of positive energy. I hope you find this feeling in these albums too.

Wish (1992) | The Cure

Wish takes The Cure into a jollier direction than their other projects. Wish boasts the exceptionally happy sounding tracks of from the famous ‘Friday I’m in Love’ to equally lovely ‘Wendy Time’, ‘Doing the Unstuck’, ‘A Letter to Elise’ and ‘High’.

However, the musical intensity and hence brilliance of Disintegration remains present in the theatrical anguish of ‘From The Edge of The Deep Green Sea’, ‘Apart’ and more. When The Cure want you to feel something through their music, you will feel it, and this album will allow you to feel it all. Joy, however, dominates. So, when Robert Smith claims it is the perfect day to ‘burst, grin, giggle, bliss, skip, jump, sing and shout’ take it as gospel and it simply will be. One of the best albums of the 90s guarantees to put you in a good mood through what is plainly good music.

Lust For Life (1977) | Iggy Pop

Sleazy, messy, iconic rock star Iggy Pop delivers an album that will easily leave you with a lust for life. Full of recognisable hits, this is definitely a crowd-pleasing mood-lifter of an album.

However, this aside, I put it forward for one song predominantly; ‘Tonight’. This is a song to rival Bowie’s ‘Heroes’, coincidentally with backing vocals from the man himself. For a song which faces mortality head-on, it is a gorgeous display of life in its fullness. Let your winter blues shed, or envelop you warmly in their complexity as you are reassured that ‘everything will be alright tonight’.

Funk Power 1970: A Brand New Thang (1996) | James Brown

This overview compilation of Brown’s work with The Pacemakers contains simply brilliant music. Credited for the birth of funk, his danceable sound is showcased in these complete length songs, where each track is an authentic display of originality and talent. Brown’s musical groove is contagious and as this album exudes only positive energy. Listen, appreciate, then dance!

Ray of Light (1998) | Madonna

I naturally had to include a pop album in the list. All of Madonna’s albums have euphoric elements. However, Ray of Light’s unrelentless pop beat with more casual vocals makes it consistently positive, yet not overwhelmingly so. Some elements of trip-hop seep into tracks and you are lead into a happy musical trance, creating a rise and fall throughout the album.

Madonna’s audaciously confident, seductive, party-girl nature is on full display here. Her energy is contagious, and so this is the perfect album for a pop party pick-me-up, but also ideal for casual listening when you want to sit back and be taken on a journey of pure but not overbearing fun all year round.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) | Original Soundtrack 

I know, I know. Halloween is over. However, chuck this on for an hour of campy, cheeky fun. Universally recognisable and always delightful, this album will make you and everyone in the room dance the time warp again! Not much needs to be said as Rocky Horror’s fabulous legacy speaks for itself. Give this a go!

Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling (2023) | Slaughter Beach, Dog

Slaughter Beach, Dog are famed for their gorgeously romantic ‘Acolyte’ and more lovely folk-indie made for people in love. However, this 2023 released album elevates them to new heights.

The album is gorgeously self-reflective and varied, as the title may suggest. A theme of floating by runs throughout, of loves lost and arriving, childhoods gone, paths crossing, the length of days. This never comes across as negative. Sad, yes, in the way winter inspires stagnation and reflection, yet Slaughter Beach, Dog display only acceptance and observation, never anger.

They ask ‘how am I still unsure?’ and ‘what’s the worst thing God can do to a fool such as me?’ Simultaneously, they present the silliness of youth, ‘writing dirty emails on AOL’ and ‘getting my groove on.’ The major keys, delicate melodies make me feel refreshed every time I listen. Look out your window, watch the clouds, listen to Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling and you are guaranteed to feel warm inside.

Death of a Ladies’ Man (1977) | Leonard Cohen

You could argue that Leonard Cohen is aesthetically the epitome of the winter blues. However, Death of a Ladies’ Man, whilst wintery, is purely uplifting. Cohen teaches us to endure, to be ‘free as running water’, to see that ‘love is out of my control.’

Sweet female choruses give grandeur to the music, fiddles and jolly drums grant a rare, silly dance-ability to Cohen’s music in the second half of the album. The epic that is the final song, titled like the album, is so magnificent. Cohen’s forever poetic presentation of love and sex and life through incredible music and meticulously chosen words leave me feeling so intensely full of delight, euphoric even. This is unconventional happiness, yet listen to this album to see the solitude of a winter-scape with a fresh set of appreciative eyes.

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The winter blues will pass by quickly enough. However, whilst they still linger, if music fails to whisk you away from them, lean into music which encompasses winter’s romantic stillness and notice the beauty in it all! Happy listening.

What is your go-to album during the winter?