The perfect shoveling playlist

Soon It Will Be Cold Enough — Emancipator

One of the hardest points of listening to Emancipator is pinning down his music to any one genre or influence. Soon It Will Be Cold Enough, released independently in 2006, is a myriad of sounds when put together creates something that embodies the beauty of the winter season. Mixing ambient noises, hip hop beats, guitar feedback and delicate melodies, courtesy of both piano and vocal sections, Soon It Will Be Cold Enough is a master class in taking the sounds of winter and weaving musical composition and interpretation into it.

What propels this album into a modern classic is the organic nature of the music — how nothing feels forced and listening to it can feel calming. “Lionheart” and “Smoke Signals” are examples of the heights Emancipator can take breezy melodies and expose winter as a calming force. The album sounds comfortable and like its album cover of a snow-ladened forest, reflects the joy that the winter season can bring.

–Bryan Stephens

Sun Leads Me On — Half Moon Run

The must have album for this winter has got to be Sun Leads Me On by Half Moon Run. If you’re an indie pop/rock lover than this newest release by the group will be more than satisfying. Sun Leads Me On offers upbeat and bright sounding tracks, in opposition to earlier releases. Where the norm for the band is to sound gloomy, this new album offers the same entrancing music with a livelier atmosphere.

Songs like “Turn Your Love” give the listener what they want; the classic gang vocals and harmonies that increasingly refine their musical identity. As exams are approaching at full speed and the soon to be winter blues are sure to come any week now, Sun Leads Me On will give you the musical motivation you need to make it through this stressful and at times dark period of the year.

–Ryan Culley

Circles — Vök

I first discovered Vök’s EP Circles when my sister went to Iceland and brought me back the Best of Icelandic Indie compilation. I’ve always enjoyed the Icelandic music scene, so this CD instantly became my life soundtrack.

One track on this compilation was called “Waterfall.” I was so mesmerized by this melodic, electro indie song. The verses are quiet and dreamy, but the chorus hits you with a bang. With only three members, Vök’s sound is big, but chill enough for studying.

Circles is only four tracks, but each track is so good it leaves you begging for this band to record a full-length album. They’ve only been around since 2013, which means if this EP is well received by fans hopefully we will see more from Vök in the near future.

–Bethany Bowles

6 Feet Beneath the Moon — King Krule

King Krule lives in a cold, dark world. He sings of a life “Bathed in Grey” and with the bitter winter approaching, it seems to be the perfect occasion to enter his twisted world.

Archie Marshall, the brains behind King Krule, melds his eclectic music taste to reflect the grime of his South London upbringing. Some consider him “darkwave,” but really he falls somewhere between jazz, hip-hop and contemporary indie rock. With his signature baritone growl, Marshall is like no other in the music industry today.

On the opener “Easy Easy,” Marshall’s drunken croon soars over a rolling bassline and a muted, trebled guitar, serving as the ideal introduction to Marshall’s dark landscape. The rest of the album follows a similar sound aesthetic trend, clinging the listener to Marshall’s grief.

–Zach Guitor