If emotional catharsis is what you’re looking for, these three indie rock albums might be able to help with that. There are a few stand-out tracks, but listening to the albums in full might be exactly what the doctor ordered. If you end up ugly crying on the floor of your bedroom, that’s just the music hard at work.
‘The Monitor’ by Titus Andronicus
Indie rock band Titus Andronicus released their second album, The Monitor, in 2010. It’s a conceptual project named after the first U.S.-commissioned ironclad warship, the USS Monitor, during the American Civil War. Throughout the album, lyrical and thematic references to this connecting thread appear, along with anachronistic influences from Billy Bragg and Bruce Springsteen.
Overall, The Monitor is a complex work with poetic density, rich in devastating imagery. The third track, “No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future”, devolves into a chant of “You’ll always be a loser”, an aspect of this song that many fans have singled out for its harsh vulnerability. But at the very end of the chant are the words, “And that’s okay!” The entire album is a collective catharsis. But this moment often gets singled out.
‘Alligator’ by The National
The National gained more attention when they released Alligator in 2005, setting the band on a trajectory to become indie rock favorites. This album earned acclaim at the time, and has also been praised retrospectively for its execution. Among the conceptual elements, Alligator possesses a cathartic energy.
Highlights from the album include “Mr. November”, which includes the unrelenting chorus, “I won’t f**k us over, I’m Mr. November / I’m Mr. November, I won’t f**k us over”. This song captured the anxiety of running for president of the United States, but also frontman Matt Berninger’s anxiety about the end of the album. As the closing track, it serves as contemplation and release of that anxiety.
‘Talon of the Hawk’ by The Front Bottoms
The Front Bottoms are indie rock favorites for cathartic albums, and the 2013 album Talon of the Hawk features some emotionally gripping work. Songwriter/vocalist Brian Sella captures emotional upheavals with raw precision. And his unpolished vocals add depth to the vulnerability of his lyrics.
With everything about the Front Bottoms combined, they make great cathartic companions. Talon of the Hawk, specifically, exists in the transitional space between adolescence and adulthood. It covers loss, change, moving on, and the resistance that can come with that. This album explores a liminal space in a way that allows for a total emotional purge.
Photo by Bernd Muller/Redferns
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