10 September Songs to Fall In Love With

The leaves are falling and the weather is getting cooler so warm up with these cozy September songs.

1 / 10
 1. Goldfrapp

1. Goldfrapp

Tales of Us

The British pair’s follow-up to 2010’s Head First is a dreamy fantasia of gossamer synths, ambient percussion and crystalline vocals.

2 / 10
 2. The Roots & Elvis Costello

2. The Roots & Elvis Costello

Wise Up Ghost

Since 2009, Philadelphia hip-hop/jazz ensemble The Roots has backed up late-night host Jimmy Fallon. Now the group brings its irresistible groove to this album of dynamic funk, a collaboration with veteran cool guy Costello.

3 / 10
 3. Franz Ferdinand

3. Franz Ferdinand

Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action

Swagger and charm flood the fourth studio album from Glasgow’s pride and joy. This collection of post-punk is so boisterous that even the contemplative ballads are buoyed by guitars and drums.

4 / 10
 4. Rosanne Cash

4. Rosanne Cash

September When It Comes

Prepare for waterworks: this warm reflection on mortality and memory by the alt-country troubadour features the gravelly vocals of her dad, Johnny Cash. The song’s a tear-jerker on its own, but the real heart wallop comes when you realize it came out in March 2003, just six months before the Man in Black passed away.

5 / 10
 5. Earth, Wind & Fire

5. Earth, Wind & Fire

September 

Without this gently funky track, wedding DJs would be at a loss, American Idol contestants would panic on disco night, bar mitzvahs would be deprived of some of their most transcendent moments, soft-rock radio stations would have a massive hole in their playlists, and countless corporations would have to update their hold music. 

6 / 10
 6. James Taylor

6. James Taylor

September Grass

Most folks are familiar with Taylor’s early-career classics, but his contemporary tunes are on par with those old-school hits. People who came of age with “Sweet Baby James” will find special resonance in this guitar-driven, percussive mid-tempo number about enduring romance and deep nostalgia.

7 / 10
7. Ryan Adams

7. Ryan Adams

September

These days, Americana ace Adams has found love (with Mandy Moore) and spends more of his time pulling goofy stunts (his metal album) than wallowing in the depths of despair. But not so long ago – in 2005, when he released his Jacksonville City Lights disc – he was a reigning king of the saddest music in the world.

8 / 10
 8. Sarah Vaughan

8. Sarah Vaughan

September Song

There’s no better symbol for the shift from the carefree days of summer to shorter days and cooler nights than the image of trees moving from vibrant green to wistful gold, orange and ochre. Vaughan’s aching delivery of this stately tuen captures that feeling: “When the autumn weather/ Turns the leaves to flame / One hasn’t got time / For the waiting game.”

9 / 10
 9. Nina Simone

9. Nina Simone

One September Day

Another gorgeous nostalgic reverie by an incomparable talent. The cinematic strings in this composition carry Simone’s vocals as she reflects on the dissolution of a great affair, one that began and ended not in May or December, or June or November, but “one September day.”

10 / 10
10. Mirah

10. Mirah

Oh! September

An instance of a typographic symbol speaking volumes, this breezy doo-wop jam by San Francisco-based singer Mirah is as breathless, wide-eyed and dynamic as the ecstatic exclamation mark suggests. 

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