With the weather growing chilly and the trees growing barren, Arizona finds itself entering a magical time called autumn. Shorter days, frequent wind, and orange leaves littering the ground leaves tranquility drifting through the air. This manifests itself in a myriad of ways, from the clothes we wear to the way we feel, and very prominently in the music we listen to.

When most people think of alternative rock, what typically comes to mind is a deafening wall of noise, which draws a stark contrast to the serenity of the fall months. However, for fans of the genre, worry not! Here are four albums that ooze autumn vibes while keeping to the large and loud fundamentals of alternative rock:

Warning by Green Day (2000)

Green Day’s Warning has a warm, percussive sound that’s perfect for fall listening. This is created through layering acoustic and electric guitars with deep, bouncy basslines and powerful drums. The trio of guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool add folk and pop elements to their typical alt-rock formula, incorporating more eclectic instrumentation such as the harmonica, saxophone, accordion, and more throughout the album’s 12 songs.

The record’s title track laments the oppressive reign of safety warnings and bumper stickers, urging listeners to live life on the edge in a tongue-in-cheek fashion. A catchy guitar riff complements staccato vocal stylings on the track’s verses, with a swirling bass lick post-chorus.

The album’s 9th song, Waiting, is another standout. Infectious instrumentals and hopeful lyrics craft a relatable power-pop anthem: “I’ve been/Waiting a long time/For this/Moment to come/I’m destined/For anything at all.” A delightful guitar solo traces the vocal melody following the second chorus into the third but slowly diverges to add a unique punch.

The penultimate track Minority brings a surge of energy as the record starts to come to a close. Including aggressive percussion, playful guitars, rumbly bass, and a vivacious harmonica riff, the bombastic song is punchy and wildly entertaining. The lyrics are politically charged with rebellious intent, espousing the importance of defiance in the face of authority.

When Your Heart Stops Beating by +44 (2006)

When Your Heart Stops Beating is +44’s sole record. The four-piece is led by bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker of blink-182 fame, introducing a myriad of interesting sounds. Piercing guitars, rapid-fire drumming, prominent synthesizers, and delightfully dark lyrics result in a spectacular autumn album.

Lycanthrope opens the record with a relentless four minutes of unfiltered angry chaos. The band attacks listeners full force from beginning to end with a barrage of energy, as razor guitars and shotgun drums soundtrack lyrics full to the brim with vitriol. 

The group shows more vulnerable qualities in the record’s fourth track, Little Death. Starry poetry calls upon a distraught lover to ease their anxieties: “Your death by information won’t disturb the peace on distant stars.” Hoppus’s baritone vocals thunder along to a softly strummed acoustic guitar and pensive percussion, ramping up to a spacious, explosive chorus.

The record ends with the vividly sentimental Chapter 13. The song’s imagery details a broken man’s suicide at the hands of his own heartbreak in a viscerally tragic album closer. The track retains the searing electricity of the rest of the record, even as the ballad-esque structure and lyricism add a feeling of somber finality.

You’re Gonna Miss It All by Modern Baseball (2014)

Modern Baseball’s You’re Gonna Miss It All is subtly captivating and sonically distinct, characterized by short songs with witty lyricism and dynamic instrumentation. Seemingly gentle tracks often turn to powerful choruses and roaring crescendos, with duo vocalists/guitarists Jake Ewald and Bren Lukens voicing clever lines about anxiety, self-hatred, lost love, and more relatable adolescent plights that perfectly suit a fall record.

The verbose lyrics of Fine, Great are impressively catchy and immediately gripping, as Lukens whines the first of the record’s many quirky choruses: “I hate worrying about the future/’Cause all my current problems are based around the past.” A lightly overdriven riff thumps along to punchy drums and a groovy bassline, progressively growing more intense until the final chorus blows up the entire track with a spiraling lead guitar line.

Another highlight is the album’s fifth track, The Old Gospel Choir. A delicate instrumental introduced in the first verse becomes stronger throughout the second. A break-neck guitar riff and a gravelly bass groove build tension that’s suddenly shattered by a wall of sound, climatically bringing the track to a close.

Your Graduation is the record’s moodiest track, written about missing an ex. Lukens conveys an aching sentimentality in a dynamic first verse, as his vocals go from mumbles to yells. The guitars are chaotic, the drums even more so, all servicing a powerful sense of longing, twinged with an underlying anger.

Somewhere City by Origami Angel (2019)

Origami Angel’s debut record Somewhere City phenomenally captures the journey from summer to autumn. With optimistic lyrics, rich guitar tones, and lively vocals, the duo of Ryland Heagy (vocals, drums, guitar) and Pat Doherty (drums) takes the audience on a tour through the idealistic ‘Somewhere City’—a place in your head to get away from anxiety, depression, and isolation.

Welcome to… is a bold, vivacious start to the concept album. A clean riff begins the track alongside slow, gentle percussion, but listeners are soon enveloped in heavy guitars and thundering drums. Heagy’s passionate screams on the bridge craft an impeccable atmosphere that perfectly compliments the hope and simplicity of the lyrics: “The city never lets me down.”

The record’s title track, named The Title Track in a tongue-in-cheek fashion, splendidly showcases the band’s knack for catchy, yet meaningful songwriting. Earworm verses accompany a powerfully melodic instrumental as vocals, guitars, and percussion race alongside each other in perfect harmony, Heagy beckoning the audience to leave their worries behind and come with him to ‘Somewhere City.’

The Air Up Here is an anthemic finale to the record. This epic track reiterates the main theme that persists throughout the record: no matter how alone or lost you feel, you can always take a trip to ‘Somewhere City’ to find yourself again. The bridge simultaneously reprises every track on the record, with nine choruses swirling in an enthralling emotional spiral. The guitar breaks into the same clean riff that started the excursion in a perfectly circular outro—imploring listeners to return to Somewhere City, whenever they may need.

No genre is a monolith, as demonstrated by all four of these fantastic albums. While retaining the rough, gritty sound the alternative rock genre is known for, these records channel the cool, solemn atmosphere of autumn with unique instrumentation and emotionally charged songwriting. Each album on this list makes for fantastic fall listening and would add some seasonally appropriate punch to any autumn playlist.