Three Albums For...
Walking The Streets In The Rain


The Cure – Disintegration (1989)



To start this is actually one of my favourite albums of all time if not my favourite album of all time. There are of course a lot of references to rain and water on this album which give the feeling of somewhat damp and murky surroundings, e.g. 'Prayers for Rain' and 'The Same Deep Water as You'. But to me this album as a whole reminds me of walking the streets during a wet and miserable afternoon, alone of course and my clothes, shoes and socks getting progressively more soaked. The slightly murky sound of the album, dense washes of reverb and downbeats moods mirror your view of the streets being distorted by falling rain, a grey and darkened sky and those puddles of water on the footpath that you are trying to avoid stepping into.

The music invokes a sense of longing for something and while you are walking the streets in the miserable rain you can't wait to get to the coffee shop to dry off and drink a nice hot latte.




Burial – Untrue (2007)



I've always felt that Untrue has a very unique atmosphere. It's an unmistakably urban album and invokes images of various city centre locations. In a similar way to Disintegration it has that feeling of loneliness but here that feeling seems even more intense and downbeat. It's that moment where the afternoon turns into evening, the streets are getting emptier and emptier and all the while the rain is continuing to pour down. You feel like you should be going home as you sit drinking your latte and staring out the window at the ever darkening and emptying street, a bit darker than normal due to the persistent rain. On your way home you try to avoid making eye-contact with people that might be about and you have that lingering dread of the increased possibility of being mugged.

The interesting use of manipulated vocal samples on this album suggest the faint sound of music leaking out onto the street from a nearby shop as you walk closer to it and then further away from it, as you continue on your lonely trudge through the city centre to catch your bus home.




Ulver – Perdition City (2000)



While Ulver's previous albums Bergtatt and Nattens Madrigal conjured images of being lost in a freezing Norwegian forest with wolves and the wind howling around you, Perdition City is something completely different. Here they have traded black metal for electronica and the wilderness for city streets. You have missed the last bus and have to make do with walking through the city centre to get home. This album makes me imagine rain-soaked city streets and dark alleyways at night and an element of danger as you walk through them. It makes me imagine the sound of cars flying past you and distant police sirens, the reflections of lights on the falling rain and on the rain-drenched roads.

The feeling of fear and paranoia throughout the album is hard to put my finger on. It's like you have a feeling that you're being followed but in reality you're not. Maybe those shady-looking people standing in the doorway back there are following me and going to jump me. They were definitely looking at me. Suddenly the rain doesn't seem that much of a problem anymore and it's best to just shuffle home as quickly as possible before you are stabbed to death.