Morning Light by Locust

If you want to feel as if you were floating through the clouds at dawn, check out the album Morning Light. This overlooked 90s IDM, trip hop project by Locust sends the listener into a spacey trance with its masterfully produced interplay of ambient instrumentals, gentle vocals, and industrial percussion. It is particularly clever with how it manages to take influences from the contrasting genres of dream pop and jungle dance music to create something both infectious and transcendent.

De Todas las Flores by Natalia Lafourcade

Few releases in the past five years are as gorgeous as Natalia Lafourcade’s De Todas las Flores. Lafourcade’s premier musicianship is exhibited throughout this album by way of lush traditional instrumentation  on which her voice travels singing melodies that lull you into a place of peace. As she traverses genres (including bolero, cumbia, and samba), she traverses emotions and creates a musical landscape as rich and healing as the garden in her home of Xalapa, Mexico.

Blackstar by David Bowie

David Bowie steps fully into the avant-garde art rock sound with his final album, Blackstar. With just seven songs but plenty of experimentation, Bowie weaves a musical epic that centers on the grave subject of his own mortality. From the ominous, sprawling titular opening track to the pleading, sorrowful closing track of “I Can’t Give Everything Away,” this album’s every second cements itself as a modern masterpiece.

Grace by Jeff Buckley

“Grace explores the inner turmoil of love and the confusion that comes with it. Aside from motifs surrounding love and desire, Buckley also masterfully strings together different styles of music featuring rock, pop, and even a touch of choral as heard in ‘Corpus Christi Carol.’ This album, with Buckley’s outstanding vocal and instrumental abilities, gives the listener a look into his life while also leaving room for personal reflection throughout.” – Holden Bitzer, ‘24