As the summer ends and school starts again, it’s important to find a fitting soundtrack for this transitory time. There’s the excitement of summer fading away, but there isn’t the cozy feeling of fall… yet. Well, luckily for you, I have created a handy list of albums that perfectly sum up the bittersweet passing of summer into another school year at Meridian High School. 

This article isn’t supposed to be a genre focus, but I find that I’ve been putting on a ton of midwestern emo to mark this period. The genre is a little too energetic for autumn, and a little too sad for summer—so where it really shines is this in-between period right now.

“American Football” by American Football

Kicking this list off, the melancholy tones of American Football’s self-titled debut album are perfect for this time of year. With its math-rock licks and soft horns, it’s really a sweet collection that definitely deserves its title as one of the best emo records of all time. 

“Home After Three Months Away” by Empire! Empire! (I was a lonely estate)

For another epic midwestern emo record, I have to put on glittery twee-emo band Empire! Empire! (I was a lonely estate)’s album “Home After Three Months Away.” This is a lot more twinkly than anything else on this list (and the vocalist can be a bit grating) but it’s definitely worth a listen. 

“Birdie” by Slaughter Beach, Dog

Following the kind of quiet, end-of-summer feeling is the album “Birdie,” by indiemo musician Slaughter Beach, Dog. The album is soft and contemplative, but still groovy enough to keep you interested.

I really like the drums on this album, too—they’re soft enough so that I’m not incredibly irritated by them, but they keep the music engaging and definitely direct the rest of the instrumentation. The use of horns on the track sounds great as well. With themes of the passing of time, bittersweet melancholy and acceptance, and notes of hope as well, this is one of my favorite albums as of late that never stops hitting hard. 

“John Kransinski” by Summer 2000

“John Krasinski” by Summer 2000 is one of my favorite records of all time and thoroughly deserves its spot on this list. It goes in and out of soft instrumentation to fuzzy, almost shoegaze-y sections so well, and the lo-fi quality of its tracks is really charming. It is an incredibly sad listen, but it deserves all of the tears shed to this record. “Kenburnsing” is gut-wrenching and “Order & Routine” is a harsher blow than you’d think.

“All Ten” by William Bonney

Finally, I have to recommend “All Ten” by William Bonney. Not for the faint of heart, this album is a loud screamo record that is as heartbreaking as it is harsh. To be honest, I can’t say exactly why I think this is a great album for this time of year, but there is something that really makes it work. Plus, when else should I stream “All Ten?”