Five Albums To Listen to in Quarantine

Fiona Apple // Fetch the Bolt Cutters

This universally acclaimed album is the quintessential quarantined listening experience. In (so far) what will no doubt be dubbed 2020's "album of the year," Fetch the Bolt Cutters not only received a perfect 10.0 from Pitchfork, but is the best-reviewed album of all time on Metacritic. The recording of Apple's fifth studio album began in 2015, and the release of it could not have been more fitting. Though originally slated for an October 2020 rollout (basically Oscar season for albums), Apple helped to release it on April 17, when many Americans were psychologically struggling with stay-at-home orders. While the "new normal" hasn't fully set in, of course, Apple's use of non-traditional instrumentation and percussive found objects struck a chord more than any traditional studio album could. It was like we were making the album ourselves if we happened to be a musical genius. Apple spoke that lyrically, the album is "about breaking out of whatever prison you've allowed yourself to live in." Fetch the Bolt Cutters is the perfect spending of Apple's creative capital, a union of chamber pop and experimentation that so many people needed. — NW

Empty Country // Empty Country

The history behind Empty Country's self-titled debut is harrowing, but fortunately, it arrives with a somewhat happy ending. The first solo release from Cymbals Eat Guitars singer Joseph D'Agostino, Empty Country takes the frontman's distinct songwriting and somehow manages to filter it through fuzz and an Americana lens. Bizarrely, D'Agostino's old manager and booking agent dropped him after hearing the project, and he was never able to tour the album between the death of mentor David Berman and the current public health crisis. But Empty Country remains an absolute pleasure to explore, blending D'Agostino's familiar songwriting with unique imagery and storytelling that recall Sun Kil Moon's Ghosts of the Great Highway. — AM

Porches // Ricky Music

Porches' 2017 LP, The House, was all about working through a depressive episode and staying indoors. Ironically, with a release date nearly coinciding with lockdown protocols, Aaron Maine's new album, Ricky Music, may be his most ambitious and outwardly expressionistic yet. Ricky Music is a bizarre listen, filled with '80s synth-pop hooks, slap bass, and disorienting key changes in equal measure; it's also short, clocking in at just 27 minutes. But this diversity and runtime are the album's strongest assets. Even when Ricky Music fails, it does so in a way that is undeniably fascinating, lending to the album's strong replay value. Stick around for song of the year contender "range rover," the album's lead single which was strangely relegated to a bonus track upon official release. — AM

Waxahatchee // Saint Cloud

Katie Crutchfield's fifth album under the moniker Waxahatchee lives up to the quality of her amazing discography. Since the days of P.S. Eliot, the band she co-fronted with her twin sister Allison (of Swearin' and her own eponymous solo efforts), Katie has established herself as one of this generation's preeminent indie voices. Thankfully, this album makes you feel good. Its light tones and trebly acoustic guitar licks pair beautifully with Crutchfield's cooing melodies. It's balanced too, with plenty of emotional moments on display here, with standout tracks like "Fire" paring those sentiments with a heart-thumping chorus you'll want to repeat again and again. Songs like "Hell" and "Witches" stand as oxymoronically playful, filled with swaying vocal hooks and bright backups. Saint Cloud is a perfect synthesis of the alt-county Crutchfield has been chasing and the punk and indie rock sensibilities that got her to this point. — NW

Caroline Rose // Superstar

Put simply, Superstar is a neon-soaked piece of escapism for the current climate. Caroline Rose's sophomore LP takes the thing she does best -- hooks (showcased on 2017's Loner) — and inflates them to stadium sizes on a concept album that follows Rose's character on her journey to attempted stardom in L.A. Rose has always been a unique storyteller, rooting her music in a quirky sense of humor and personal catharsis, and despite the new narrative here, not much has actually changed in terms of songwriting. This time around, Rose simply opts for synthesizers in place of her guitars and brushes everything with an extra coat of glittery new-wave sheen. These are the kinds of songs we're going to need to get through the indoor summer of 2020. — AM