Songs that actually sound like October

Every autumn playlist arrives with the same five songs on it. This one keeps a couple of the obvious ones, because some songs earned their place, and then goes somewhere quieter. Twelve picks, in no order of importance, for the month when the light goes early and the big hoodie comes back out.

1. girl in red, "we fell in love in october"

The song the whole list is named after, with a twist: it came out on 21 November 2018, as a double single with "Forget Her". The October song is a November release. It has since been certified gold in the US.

2. Mitski, "My Love Mine All Mine"

From her 2023 album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We. It gave Mitski the first Hot 100 entry of her career on the chart dated 7 October 2023, and went on to peak at No. 26. An October chart debut for a song this hushed is about as fitting as it gets.

3. Duster, "Inside Out"

From Stratosphere, Duster's debut, released on 24 February 1998 and made in the band's own home studio on analog gear. For two decades it was a cult record. Then TikTok found it in the 2020s, and a slowcore band from the late nineties became a new generation's idea of autumn.

4. Far Caspian, "Astoria"

Far Caspian is the project of Joel Johnston, out of Leeds. "Astoria" came out as a single on 2 May 2019 and landed on the EP The Heights that June.

5. wave to earth, "bad"

The Korean band's song that travelled furthest: "bad" sits under roughly 135 thousand TikTok videos.

6. TV Girl, "Not Allowed"

Track five on Who Really Cares, released 26 February 2016. Like several TV Girl songs, it charted years after it came out, once TikTok got hold of it from 2022 onward.

7. Nujabes, "Aruarian Dance"

From Departure, the 2004 soundtrack to the anime Samurai Champloo. Nujabes, born Jun Seba, died in February 2010. Hydeout Productions, the label he founded, still looks after the catalogue.

8. American Football, "Never Meant"

The opening track of the band's self-titled 1999 debut on Polyvinyl.

9. Slowdive, "Dagger"

The last song on Souvlaki, 1993. The whole record ends here.

10. Grouper, "Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping"

Grouper is Liz Harris. This is from Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill, 2008.

11. Peter Cat Recording Co., "Floated By"

The Delhi band's album Bismillah came out on 7 June 2019, made between Delhi and Paris. "Floated By" is from it.

12. Lo! Peninsula, "Kintsugi"

Shoegaze from Imphal, Manipur, and an ADMC cosign. Of everything on this list, this is the one you will end up telling people about.

One more thing

We fell in love in October too, so we made the fit. The fell in love in oct tees, baby tee and sweatshirt are at wearadhd.com.

What is your October song?