Needing to climb out.
Cathartic, energetic, anthemic. Records that lift you the rest of the way once you've decided to move.
The trick with climbing-out music isn't to find something happy — it's to find something that *acknowledges* the bottom and still has somewhere to go. These five records all do that, in different keys. Pick the one that matches the version of yourself you want to be by the end.
The picks
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1
Born in the U.S.A.
Bruce Springsteen · 1984
Born in the U.S.A. is Springsteen at his most uncomplicated — eleven anthems about working through it. Misunderstood for 40 years; works perfectly for this purpose.
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2
Sound of Silver
LCD Soundsystem · 2007
LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver is what dance music sounds like when you take it seriously. All My Friends is the album in miniature: it earns the climb.
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3
Funeral
Arcade Fire · 2004
Arcade Fire's Funeral is grief and triumph in the same gesture — a record about losing people that ends in collective shouting. Wake Up is the closer for a reason.
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4
Hot Fuss
The Killers · 2004
The Killers' Hot Fuss is anthemic without irony — 11 songs each engineered to be shouted along to in a car with the windows down.
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5
Lungs
Florence + the Machine · 2009
Florence + The Machine's Lungs is climbing-out music as performance — the voice is the lift. Dog Days Are Over is the only assignment.