I’m sure most any of you can appreciate a relaxing day in. I know my favorite mornings are the ones that I get to wake up to my body’s own internal clock instead of the incessant buzzing of an alarm clock. On those days, the perfect start to my morning is a nice hot cup of coffee (or tea, I don’t play favorites) and snuggling up on my couch with my cats. You can envision that perfect morning for yourself, can’t you? Maybe you choose to spend it with a book in your hands, or maybe you’re the type to peruse through your social media feed like it’s the morning paper. However you choose to spend these relaxing mornings, the reality is that they don’t come around as often as we’d like. The stresses of school, work and social lives often stand in the way of that stress-free bliss, but whatever sort of day you’re having, these songs may be just what you need to put yourself in that restorative headspace.
Song One: “Straight Through the Sun” by Old Sea Brigade
There’s nothing like waking up in the morning to the feeling of warmth, right? If you’re looking for something that gives you that 8 AM feeling of sun poking through the slots in your window shade, look no further than Old Sea Brigade’s song “Straight Through the Sun” from his debut album Ode To A Friend, which was recently released on January 24th. Known to his friends and family as Ben Cramer, Old Sea Brigade is a 27-year-old, Atlanta-born indie folk singer and songwriter. Now spending his days in Nashville, Tennessee, Cramer has been drawing on this southern influence to create soothing music since 2015. Since then, he has released four EPs and has made American tours along with artists such as Julien Baker and Hiss Golden Messenger.
“Straight Through the Sun” is a song about complicated and all-consuming relationships. Cramer begins by talking about a love of his, telling his listeners “Like it when you lie ’cause it keeps me on my feet.” From the sound of things, he’s got himself someone who is fickle and untrustworthy, but he sees something in them that keeps him guessing and is therefore intrigued. At least he’s self-aware in the fact that he’s gotten himself in over his head as he says “Oh lord I don’t wanna live without you, but I don’t wanna drive straight through the sun.” He hopes that he can solve the impending problems with luck and that love will prevail, but I’d say it’s safe to assume this one is a relationship that was doomed from the beginning.
Song Two: “Naturally Lazy” by Native America
What better way to create a perfect lazy day atmosphere than listening to a song called “Naturally Lazy”? You’re right, I can’t think of one either. This naturally nostalgic sound comes from none other than Native America, a trio made up of Ross Farbe (guitarist), John St. Cyr (bassist) and Ray Micarelli (drummer), with all three of them featuring vocals on their tracks. The band formed in the birthplace of music, New Orleans, and is known best for their style of “garage rock,” which relies on the simple blending of instruments into a sullen sound.
“Naturally Lazy” isn’t a song that’s trying to say too much and Native America isn’t a band that’s trying too hard to squeeze meaning into their lyrics. Sometimes, you just have to sing about how much you want to do nothing. Which is exactly what this song is. The very first lines says, “Waking up so late, half the day is gone and I don’t feel so well.” This sort of thing is reminiscent of the adolescent experience, when cares were few and far between and time was something to be wasted. Although, it isn’t from a lack of responsibilities that the speaker of the song is able to spend his time idly, he’s just “naturally lazy.” This he proves again in the second verse with the lyrics “Sit and soak it in I’ve got no place to be. Off of work again and don’t you call my phone.” Clearly, he’s not the type of person that prioritizes his day-to-day life. Perhaps it’s because he feels unfulfilled in his career and social life, but this apathetic nature has been getting the best of him. At the end of the song, we finally see him beginning to come around saying that he’s been trying to get himself together, but the lethargy keeps weighing him down.
Song Three: “Bayou” by Mountains of the Moon
If you’re in the mood for something a little more ethereal, “Bayou” might be the right song for you. Mountains of the Moon is a band named after the legendary mountain range of East Africa that was said to be the source of the Nile River. It was named “Mountains of the Moon” for the snow that capped the mountain peaks. Similarly, the band hailed from Sweden encapsulates this atmospheric quality through their alternative folk-rock style.
Their lyrics are fitting to their sound, as “Bayou” takes on a dream-like quality about searching for a lost love. The speaker compares this journey to love as being an addictive drug. He uses the lines “A shot to the veins, take the rush” to describe the euphoric sense that he’s experiencing through falling in love. He believes that being in love with this other person was so good that it felt like it could only be the stuff of dreams, and therefore is filled with anger and disappointment when he asks “Why’d you wake me up?” Throughout the song, he uses contrasting imagery to describe himself as something that is a prisoner of gravity while the other is floating above ground. When they are together, they meet on “solid ground.”
Song Four: “Spirit Cold” by Tall Heights
Perhaps you like to spend your free mornings in a more introspective state of mind. If so, “Spirit Cold” may offer you the insights you’re looking for, or it may simply make you ask yourself questions you weren’t prepared to answer. Tall Heights is a duo from Boston that describes themselves as “electro-folk.” The band gets their sound through the use of cello, which is played by lead singer Paul Wright and percussion by backup vocalist Paul Dumas. Their stripped-back music was heavily influenced by where they met in Sturbridge, Massachusetts where they started out playing on the streets. They now have released three albums, their latest being Pretty Colors For Your Actions that came out in October of 2018.
Aside from its simplistic, string-based sound, “Spirit Cold” is a highly involved song. The first words that the speaker confronts his audience with is the question “How do I wake my spirit cold?” This is referring to the state of discontentment that has settled over his life. He does not feel as though his soul is active in himself, and he is merely going through the motions of life. The imagery he uses in the song signifies a death of his choices. In the pre-chorus he sings that lyrics “Hold the nail for the hammer’s stroke,” as if to depict being nailed into a coffin, or in this case, a certain way of life. He’s looking for a way out, but all he can feel around him is the “loam” of the earth, the only place that he’s ever known. He then asks “How do I learn my dreams to mold, to lay them bare in the morning cold?” Here, he is asking how he can move forward with his life and go after what he truly wants for himself in a climate that makes him prone to failure. This song is about how sometimes we unknowingly sacrifice the only things that make our lives worth living.
Song Five: “Fresh Roses” by Juke Ross
If you don’t want to think that hard on your morning off, you may want to check out “Fresh Roses” instead. This song’s mellow quality and soft message are the perfect way to start your day off in a state of contentment. Juke Ross is a singer/songwriter from Georgetown, Guyana, which is on the Northern Mainland of South America. This is a place that he speaks of reverently, as his home is centered on the feeling of community and the love of music. He brings this togetherness and zeal for life into his music. Some of his greatest influences came from listening to the radio growing up, on which he would hear tracks from Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, and John Mayer. Like many artists, Juke Ross draws inspiration from the world around him.
This sentiment can easily be seen in his track “Fresh Roses.” This song represents a refreshing take on how love can complicate one’s life and how timing and self-love become important aspects to address within a relationship. Though this song’s lyrics may be veiled in cliché, it uses these ideas to turn the overused imagery on its head. Ross opens the song discussing the presence of a new love in his life that he does not want to let go of, but though things may be looking good, he still feels that he has some unfinished business with himself. He tells this love “Darling I was searching for the light within when you came on in, placed my world in a spin.” He was so lost in himself at the time that he wasn’t looking for someone to come along and save him, but it just so happened that this was when love decided to arrive. During the chorus, Ross repeats the line “Fresh roses in my garden need the rain,” praying for rain to fall, but as he states, he receives only sunlight. He knows that in order to grow, he needs to nurture this budding romance and make something lasting. If all he ever receives is sunlight and happiness, the relationship will burn out fast, as there is no depth to it.
Song Six: “Body” by SYML
If your version of a relaxing morning includes yoga, or some other form of light exercise, “Body” might be the perfect track to start your day. “Body” adopts the smooth surreal qualities that SYML (otherwise known as Brian Fennell) is best known for in his alternative indie pop music. A former member of the band Barcelona, Fennell rebranded as a soloist under the name SYML, which originates from the Welsh word for “simple.” Although he grew up with his adopted family in Washington State, he later found out that his birth parents were Welsh and has infused this heritage and his experiences surrounding his upbringing into his music. His most popular song, “Where’s My Love” was featured on the hit television show Teen Wolf on MTV and subsequently earned its place on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart for 20 weeks.
“Body” revolves around the idea of being out of control of oneself. In this song, the speaker feels like a foreigner in his own skin. He begins by singing “In my body I have a master,” as if there were someone else puppeteering his every action. He then goes on to say “In my body I’m a disaster,” furthering this lack of connection between his physical and mental selves. He describes his body as something that imprisons him, but then begs for another to accept this body and “give [it] a chance.” Although he is not comfortable with all of the things that are in his self, he acknowledges that this is all he has, and he is hoping that it is enough to be loved for anyway.
Song Seven: “Lovely Morning” by Room Eleven
Whatever way you choose to spend it, I hope yours is a “Lovely Morning.” This song by Room Eleven takes place in the wake of a much more eventful evening. The band, consisting of members Janne Schra (lead vocalist), Arriën Molema (guitarist), Tony Roe (keyboard player), Lucas Dols (bassist) and Maarten Molema (drummer), were active between 2004 and 2009 under the name Room Eleven. Members Janne, Tony and Lucas later went on to continue as the band Schradinova with the addition of Philippe Lemm, Sietse van Gorkom and Stef van Es. Starting out of Utrecht in the Netherlands, the band formed when Schra put out an ad on Utrecht Music College’s message board looking for people to write songs with.
The song “Lovely Morning” follows the events in the aftermath of a drunken hook-up. As the girl comes back to herself, she begins piecing together the happenings of the evening before. She wakes up disoriented, unable to find her clothes and with a sticky note stuck to her cheek that reads “You’ve got my number.” But the confusion does not end there. She sings “my keys are gone like my memory,” admitting to the fact that she has no recollection of last night and no idea where she is. In any circumstance, this should be a terrifying and possibly dangerous situation. However, it seems to be hinted at that this is a mistake that keeps happening as she says “you keep feeding me when I’m not hungry.” This implies a recurring event. She doesn’t want to acknowledge the fact that she messed up and so she claims that the side that came out of her was not truly herself. However, this song is easily representative of a bad cyclical habit. So much for a lovely morning.
Everyone deserves a lazy day now and then, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take time for yourself in each day, however busy it may be. Easy, relaxing days may be hard to come by, but with self-care and proper time management, anyone can squeeze in the extra time to take care of themselves. If nothing else, I hope these songs remind you to take a deep breath and just lay back for a bit.
You can listen to the full playlist here!