Indie Shuffle presents the follow up to Essential Sounds of Autumn: Part One, with ten more songs from albums that we like to pull out when the leaves begin to change. Similar to our last edition, you’ll find that we’ve continued the slow-down, switching from indie pop to folk, from glam rock to instrumental ambient. Where you might find a change is in our featuring Aesop Rock’s Labor Days, autumn-relevant mainly for its exploration of the plight of the working class as we head into a tougher season.

From here, you have three options: 1) you can skip all we’ve written and simply hit play on the playlist below; 2) you can read everything and listen to individual songs as it suits you; or 3) you could do both of those at once. Regardless of which exciting route you choose, remember to follow up afterward by supporting the artist! – Jason Grishkoff

10. Noah and the Whale – Peaceful, the World Lays me Down

What’s so good? By Jessica Alatorre

Choosing the one song to highlight here is tough. We could go with the slow building sounds of “Mary” or “Rocks and Daggers;” there’s the upbeat skipping of “shape of my heart” or “5 years time.” But ultimately, “2 atoms in a molecule” and “give a little love” showcase the best of noah and the whale circa 2008.

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download: noah and the whale – 2 atoms and a molecule
full album: click on album cover to support the artist

These songs put a bounce in your step but hold many surprises. It’s like a walk outside on a bright sunny day when the day might look warm, but the tip of your nose is sure to be a tab bit colder than your hands stuffed inside those sweater pockets. The reworked folk-pop sounds of Noah and the Whale are beautiful on the album “peaceful, the world lays me down.” With so many top songs, this album had to be one of our fall favorites. Leader singer Charlie Fink has a warm emotional voice, and the lyrics are heartfelt, “What you share with the world is what it keeps of you.”

9. The National – Boxer

What’s so good? By Jason Grishkoff

In may of 2007, The National released their fourth album, Boxer. Notable to their sound is front man Matt Berninger, whose deep and distinctive baritone voice defines a sound appropriate for fall. But it is not just Berninger’s vocal and lyrical prowess, however, that lend this album the honor of being included as an essential of autumn.

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download: the national – ada
full album: click on album cover to support the artist

Clean, layered guitar work and drummer Bryan Devendorf ’s effortless alternations from rampant flurries to muted details, entwine around Mr. Berninger’s midtempo melodies, recounting the 1980s mope-rock of New Order and the Cure. With an original and wholesome sound, it is not surprising that you will find this album has popped up on a number of “Top Albums of the 00s” lists.

8. Aesop Rock – Labor Days

What’s so good? By el grinco rico

Hear this: Hip hop isn’t dead; It resides underground. Every now and then, when you least expect it, an artist comes along that reaffirms your faith in music and mankind as a whole. Aesop Rock is one of these artists.

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download: aesop rock – daylight
full album: click on album cover to support the artist

Over the past 10 years, the self proclaimed “earthworm” (he who burrows in the soil to aerate and break up the ground) has escalated himself into the ranks of hip hop lore. His abstract and complex rhymes personify the profundity of spoken poetry and the art MCing. His second album “Labor Days” is autumn-relevant mainly for its exploration of the plight of the working class. “9-5ers Anthem” is an inspiring testament to the trials and tribulations of the worker bee, while the haunting trumpets of “Battery” will influence you enough to care about where every homeless man in your city is buckling down for the winter. Every track is a gem on Labor Days, but “Daylight” and “No Regrets” are two of the underground movement’s most formidable anthems and a great place to dive into the pandora’s box that is Aesop Rock.

7. The Tallest Man on Earth – Shallow Grave

What’s so good? By Camden Andrews

Enter Kristian Matsson, a skinny Swedish songwriter dressed in a traditional folk singer garb, and standing in at 5′8.” As soon as he opens his mouth though, he’s the Tallest Man on Earth, an early-Dylanesque singer with a booming, gravelly voice and a quirky passion for his rustic music.

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download: tallest man on earth – i won’t be found
full album: click on album cover to support the artist

With bare instrumentation containing nothing but an acoustic guitar or a banjo, it’s easy to imagine him picking away in front of a campfire somewhere in an open field watching the last of summer’s sunsets. I’m not sure what autumn is like in Sweden, but he captures a universal sense of the season’s bittersweet tranquility beautifully.

6. Devendra Banhart – Cripple Crow

What’s so good? By el grinco rico

devendra banhart is known for many things: his unique vision towards folk music, his relentless exploration into new realms of musical experimentation, and his ultimately bewildering demeanor. He sometimes claims to be a child stuck in a grown man’s body. The king of freak folk’s music is far from immature, however, as the development of his music over the last decade amply demonstrates.

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download: devendra banhart – cripple crow
full album: click on album cover to support the artist

Cripple Crow is in our opinion, an excellent fit for the fall because it delivers a variety of minimalist yet mystical musical styles on themes such as wolves, mountains, and love. About a third of the album is in Spanish, but fear not, you don’t need to know the words to enjoy these playful melodies.

5. Deer Tick – War Elephant

What’s so good? By Jessica Alatorre

The crackling voice of lead singer John McCauley oozes grit. War Elephant, his debut album at age 19, is best described as raw, with its minimal editing, emotional vocals and brooding guitars speaking the language of Americana. The alternative country twang in this album sounds like we’re going back to the roots of blues and folk music. The songs are melodic, but not catchy. McCauley’s lyrics sound like someone lost and searching.

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download: deertick – art isn’t real
full album: click on album cover to support the artist

At first, the vocals can be a bit of a surprise with their grunge-influenced sounds, but give this album a chance. War Elephant has many layers to it, much like leaves changing colors, and if you stick with it a little longer, the lyrics and music reveal their true beauty.

4. Coldplay – Parachutes

What’s so good? By Jason Grishkoff

Coldplay? Sell out! Pass your judgment, if you will, but I will maintain that this is one group that deserves to be as immensely successful as they are. Their debut album, Parachutes, was released in 2000, and since that day I have not grown tired of bringing it out to play.

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download: coldplay – don’t panic
full album: click on album cover to support the artist

The opening song Don’t Panic sets the tone as a gentle introduction to an album of remarkable depth and elegance. In particular, it is the song that, for me, identifies this album with the time of year that we make the slow and oft-gloomy transition into winter. And yet, through all its melancholy sound, this album remains undoubtedly uplifting. Sure, they sold out, but that doesn’t mean their music isn’t good anymore.

3. Grizzly Bear – Yellow House

What’s so good? By Jessica Alatorre

When I listen to this album I think: lo-fi, layered and heady. Yellow house has a spooky sound to it, led by sad pianos and scratchy violins. There are surprises in every song, with unexpected musical twists and turns. This is best exemplified at the end of “Knife,” which ends on a surprisingly beautiful minimalist note.

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download: grizzly bear – easier
full album: click on album cover to support the artist

“On a neck, on a spit” is complex, the layers of background noise and resulting moods make you feel a little lost. This 8-song album is cholk-full of brooding instrumentation. The album opener, “Easier” sets the tone, and Grizzly Bear takes us on a magical autumn-esque ride.

2. Nick Drake – Pink Moon

What’s so good? By Jason Grishkoff

While Nick Drake had been told by his friends that he was a “musical genius”, he could not come to terms with the fact that he had not found success. When he died of an overdose in 1974, he was relatively unknown, manically depressed and living with his parents. Since the mid-80s, however, Drake’s haunting, acoustic, autumnal folk has had an influence on a myriad of artists.

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download: nick drake – things behind the sun
full album: click on album cover to support the artist

Modern media has undoubtedly brought Nick Drake back to the forefront of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 20th century. Perhaps the most telling example of this media influence is the case of a Volkswagen ad in 2000 that featured the title track from Pink Moon. Within a month of the ad playing on TV, Drake had sold more records than he had in the previous thirty years.

1. Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans

What’s so good? By Jessica Alatorre

This album is best reserved for the first cold, wet day of fall, the day when you really know, winter is only a few weeks away. Seven Swans has a melancholic sound, it is certainly an album to listen to when you need to be alone with your thoughts. “To be alone with you” probably best captures the feeling of imminent sadness (as days get colder).

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download: sufjan stevens – a good man is hard to find
full album: click on album cover to support the artist

There may be some light at the end of this tunnel, found in the form of “The dress looks nice on you,” but even here, there’s a shy sense of looking forward. Seven Swans has a quiet lo-fi folk sound. Stevens’ music on this album varies from that of, say, Illinois. Here we find him contemplative, spiritual and deeply questioning; his usual full multi-instrumentation backing is missing. This album is about the vocals, the focus on the lyrics, and combination of these two elements as they create a cohesive, subtle album.