Album Interludes You Need to Listen To

I have a brother trying to break into the music industry. He spends hours and hours streaming, searching, and creating pieces every day. When we used to live together, he would burst in my room at three or four in morning to show me his latest favorite album or song. Years and years of him exposing me to obscure and well-known artists have led me to the conclusion that I really, fucking, love interludes. I'm a sap for the short, emotional and sometimes odd songs that break up or connect an album. While some of these interludes are more well-known than others, all of these songs are worth a serious listen.

For most of my music-discovering life, I was a hipster shit that had minimal exposure to Kanye. It was only when I went to college and lived with 5 other gals that my musical taste really expanded. The simple piano and cello melodies blend and contrast in a perfect way. The song feels wistful and empowering, definitely worth a minute of your time.

Nice bass line? Trumpet melody? Sign me up immediately. I feel like I've been transported to an empty bar on a boat in like... the 50s or something. It's kinda lonely but lonesomeness of the comfortable variety.

I have a lot of feelings when it comes to Lana Del Rey. Some of her songs are the perfect window to the past, full of sorrow and love and nostalgia, some just don't connect with me. I'll admit that the lyrics are a bit cliché, but the echo and electronic notes added in give it a sense of out-of-time sense of contemplation and peace.

Don't take it the wrong way, Halsey's newest album is the bomb, but I fall head over heels for a well-done concept album. I have strong memories of listening to this album in high school, ditching school and driving into the hills or desert with my best friend. This interlude has the same intensity as the rest of the album, and it feels powerful and a bit dark.

Periphery is an artist my brother introduced me to. In his high school years, he collected every album Periphery had released, and I would hear him jamming along at all hours of the day. This interlude feels very sci-fi, as though I should be zooming through a neon city with my significant other on a hover bike at midnight, barely seeing the stars through the light pollution.

If the auto-generated voice in this song unnerves you, you wouldn't be alone. I'm not huge on tracks with emphasis on spoken word. They usually feel kinda unnatural and stiff and break up the flow of the album. But somehow, Radiohead can get away with it. Radiohead can get away with a lot of things that other bands can't. The creepy, new age audio leaves you feeling stripped bare and somehow breathless (but like, not necessarily in a good way.)

Ah, yes. Eighth grade. The climax of my emo years. In eighth grade I took to wearing dark clothes, attempting to cut my own bangs, and listening to MCR. Lots and lots of MCR. The interlude on Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge was probably the first interlude on a contemporary album that I ever heard. The somber, eerie vocals fit the bands vibe and the softness and vulnerability of the 57 second song is perfectly fitted to the album angsty vibes.

The harmonies! alt-J has had some great musical moments, and this song is one of them. This song feels like a modern take on a sea shanty. It's wonderful and feels a bit timeless and otherworldly. Basically, it's everything I look for in a song. Check it out, seriously. A minute and twelve seconds isn't nearly long enough.

Though this isn't my favorite Paramore song, it's got it's own cutesy, vintage vibe to it. It's an indie, youtuber-with-a-uke style piece that's cheery and absolute fun to sing along to. If you have a friend with a uke, tell them to bring it along on your next road trip and strum this tune. It will be aesthetic AF.

I would listen to this song just for the title. Among other things, I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic. I tend to cover it up with logical approaches to emotional situations and an outward cynical persona, but it's there. Aside from the pretty name, this song is atmospheric and lovely in it's own right. It sounds like it should be playing at the end of a hopeful, coming of age teen movie. You know, driving to a new town with parents or friends with sunlight glinting off the windshield. Some sappy, lovely shit like that.

After a kid introduced me to Tame Impala, I felt like 25% more of an indie-kid wannabe than before. Whenever I listen to this artist, it feels a bit like I'm falling through space and time with some low quality graphics. Idk, it's a whole thing in my mind. This is a good tune to sit on the floor and just let it wash over you.

Geometric album art is my thing. Slap some triangles or squares on a cover, and boom! I'll check it out. The slow build in this song leads it to a sudden stop if you listen to it on it's own, but blends into the next song perfectly if you listen to it in conjunction with the rest of the album. It's the perfect ambient sound for an interlude.

Keaton Henson is one of my all-time favorites. All of his instrumental pieces are gorgeous, but this 42 second overture is worthy of a song all on it's own. The strings are wonderful, soft and moving. It's nice to have a bit of an emotional break, considering any song with Henson's lyrics are liable to leave you in tears.

This piano piece is deceptively simple. It feels uncomplicated and brings back memories of times before student loans and, you know, responsibilities. It's also pretty fun to learn on the piano, if playing is your cuppa. Despite being a wordless, 90 second song, it's one of my favorite by the Lumineers.

Another favorite piano piece for me is Postcards From Far Away from Coldplay's album, Viva La Vida. This song is the musical equivalent of sipping tea and watching rain through the window of a cafe in a city you've never visited before. It's gorgeous, a little reminiscent, and full of possibility. This song is one of those that calms me down instantly after a stressful day.

I'm not positive I've made a list without Bon Iver yet. Whoops. Can a kid be blamed? His musical ambience is like, exactly what I want my life to sound like at all times. The steady drumming gives it a bit of an insistent, off-to-war vibe, while the eclectic guitar and bass slow it down a bit. The whistling is the ultimate addition to me. It's a little disconcerting and pretty beautiful.

I love St. Vincent. And I love piano. It's honestly the best of both worlds for me. This romantic piece checks off everything on a list of things I could ever want in an interlude. It's soft, light, and classy. I'm not sure if it conjures pictures of a lounge outside of a concert hall or of quiet spring mornings in the country. In any case, it's stunning and full of emotion.

If nothing else, I hope you gained a new appreciation for album interludes and the soft, middle pieces that can get overlooked. Whether your taste is instrumental or electronic in style, there's a song out there for you. For a complete list of songs, I've created a Spotify playlist. You can catch the link here.