Rain on the Windowpane

About this mixtape

Some rain makes you want to stay in, and that's the rain this tape is for: a slow afternoon at the window, a warm mug, nowhere you have to be. It was made for a mood that's cosy and a bit wistful, so the songs are soft and reflective but never heavy. Think of it as company for the hours when the light stays grey and your thoughts wander a little further than usual.

It opens with two songs by Bon Iver, "Holocene" and "Skinny Love", one wide and hushed, the other raw and close, both carried by Justin Vernon's falsetto. Lord Huron's "The Night We Met", Frank Ocean's "Ivy" and Radiohead's "Motion Picture Soundtrack" keep that dreamy, faraway feeling going. Then the room warms up: Hozier's "Cherry Wine" is little more than a voice and a fingerpicked guitar, Joni Mitchell's "River" is a winter song sung over piano by someone who wishes she could skate away, and Beabadoobee's "Coffee" is the lightest moment on the tape, small and lo-fi.

The last stretch settles into longer, slower feelings. The Cinematic Orchestra's "To Build a Home" grows from a few piano notes into strings, Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" is Stevie Nicks and a gently picked guitar, and The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" adds a touch of sitar to a story told with a wry smile. The National's "Slow Show" closes it, Matt Berninger's low baritone ending the afternoon on something close to devotion.

The songs run from 1965 to 2017, but the mood holds steady: quiet voices, acoustic guitars and piano, with the drums kept soft or left out. Play it here with the previews, or open the whole tape as a YouTube playlist and let it run while the rain does the rest. If your grey day is really a bright one waiting to happen, make your own tape with the energy turned up a little.