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Cuddle up with these harmonies by the fireplace, before you sleep or to shed that anxiety
The cold snap has hit and things are bleak to say the least. Winter is here to shit all over our comfort with it's germ spreading, lip-chapping, ice-making arseholery. Also, statiscally, you are more likely to be broken up with over the Christmas period - so look forward to that. These things are inevitable so we scowered Reddit to find the most warming sounds for the ultimate comfort playlist to see you through until Spring.
There isn't one definition of what comfort is. For some, it's acoustic guitars and dreary vocals whereas others prefer more meditative and thought-provoking sounds like Boards of Canada or Aphex Twin - comfort takes all shapes, as this gallery will show you. Reddit is a hotbed of insecurity and anxiety so it makes sense that the online forum would provide the best soundtrack to find solace to, sleep to, massage your dog too, forget about your long-lost children too; we're not going to tell you how to feel comfort.
Here are Reddit's 13 most comforting songs and albums.
Nick Drake - Pink Moon (SpacemasterTom): "Such a soothing and calming voice, even though it's far from ambient"- Pink Moon's finality and legacy on top of the stripped back acoustics makes it the most authentic sedative that came out of the 70s, if you can believe that.
Washed Out - Paracosm (Yunghercule): "great to sleep to probably because of the soft timbre and melodic movements throughout their songs" - A popular choice along with the, iconically titled, Awake by Tycho.
Kraftwerk - 'Spacelab' (Bioxbody): With a name like 'bioxbody' we have to assume that this reddit user is a robot. Their affection for Kraftwerk probably comes from homesickness; we're told that the charts in the metallic otherworld are just teeming with old Kraftwerk tunes.
Pink Floyd - Meddle (najing_ftw): A perfect comfort record for turntable users, the side two for Meddle consists of 'Echoes' a 24 minute soundscape that transports the mind to new dimensions - hopefully ones that are wholly less stressful.
Smashing Pumpkins - 1979 (BezerkMushroom): "It's just the most beautiful sounding song, I love the instruments used and the relaxed singing, even though Corgan's voice isn't for everyone I think he nails this song".
The Shins - New Slang (W1cKed_Sk1llz): "For lighter issues like when I need to cheer up a little", the duck egg tones of James Mercer's crew have acted solace for the easily frustrated since 2001 and continue to do some nearly 15 years after the band's debut.
Nada Surf - The Weight Is A Gift (chumothy): One of those band's that have stayed above water consistently since the early noughties but haven't broken the barrier of fame. It's good to hear that their consoling alt-rock is still being appreciated, even if it is just on Reddit.
Incubus - Adolescent (Maxdaz): "Something about that song just makes me want to lay in a hammock all day", described by guitarist Eizenger as the band's most 'digestable' song, it's true that we find comfort in familiarity.
The Grateful Dead - Ripple (Happy_Vagabond): "The Dead are all about love. Whenever I fell like shit and want to do nothing but sulk I can put this song on I know that it's alright, life is fucking hard, but it's alright." - Preach Brother.
Eluvium - Prelude For Time Feelers (edgy96): "I prefer the sound of instrumentals over vocals in some cases, this track in particular doesn't remind me of anything, I just like the way it sounds." - sometimes comfort can be found in something as simple as just noise; no higher meaning, no pretension. Just good vibrations.
Atmosphere - Sunshine (Kj7up): A song that 'equals' happiness. The rhyme and upbeat beat combo is unbeatable. Slug and Ant come through with an incredible opener for their amazing Bad Summer EP, definitely one to get the serotonin pumping.
Suicide Silence (Tsivqdans96): No indication of a song or album, we've got huge respect for this user who defies the standard of relaxing music. Good on Tsivqdans96 for not conforming to our standards of comfort.
A concrete-filled steel drum being destroyed by an industrial shredder (OMGOMC): "It makes me eat my fingernails" - each to their own, we suppose.
Photo: Artwork
