Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

Arctic Monkeys have had a very interesting creative trajectory. From singing about getting drunk and trying to pull, the band now perform in an abstract style with orchestras and lounge bands. Many haven’t welcomed the shift, but if there is one thing to say about Arctic Monkeys’ newest records, it’s that they make for great background noise. 

Does a concept album set within a piano bar on the moon featuring metaphors about social media and nostalgia sound pretentious? You bet it does. However, the slow singing of Alex Turner paired with elongated instrumental passages are ripe for ignoring and great to put on when you don’t want to listen to the music seriously.

Ethel Cain – Perverts

Despite being relatively new at the time of this writing, Ethel Cain’s new album Perverts has already made quite a name for itself. Most people who have listened have found the elongated drone effects she uses terrifying as they sit and listen to one of the most mesmerising and haunting records in recent times. 

Sure, you can feel out of sorts with the record, but there is another way to look at the drone noises. By her own admission, Cain said that she believes the record is meditative. This makes it a perfect album to fade into the distance while you’re listening. “Perverts is an erotic project to me personally,” she wrote, “All drone music for me is part erotic, part meditative. It’s deeply indulgent and euphoric for me, in different ways for different tracks.”

Mk.gee – Two Star & The Dream Police

The past couple of years have been filled with praise for Mk.gee, who is being hailed as one of the most prolific and original guitarists in the modern music industry. His album Two Star & The Dream Police is captivating if you want it to be. If you put in earphones and allow yourself to be swept up in the sporadic nature of the record, it can be something which totally grabs your attention; however, it’s also an album you can ignore.

Because of the peaceful nature of Mk.gee’s guitar playing and the spaced-out atmosphere established throughout the record, this is a perfect album to let fill the background of your life. It is the perfect soundtrack for someone trying to be zen and is an album you should turn to the next time you want music to do all of the heavy lifting for you.

Led Zeppelin – Presence

Led Zeppelin aren’t often referred to as a band that you should ignore. Because of their hard-hitting riffs and eccentric nature as a band, it can be tricky to let them blend into the background; however, Presence is an album you can quite easily let drift off into the distance. 

This is notoriously an album that the band weren’t particularly passionate about. While Jimmy Page put his usual effort into it, Robert Plant was going through personal troubles, which left him sounding slightly more distant than usual. The result strips away some of Led Zeppelin’s raw edge, leaving behind an ever-so-slightly restrained rock sound.

Grateful Dead – Live / Dead

It’s difficult to keep track of an album that only has a loose structure, which is why the Grateful Dead’s live album makes for such wonderful background listening. The record goes on its own journey, which means it’s great as something you can let run in the background and dip in and out of whenever you please. 

“A list of song titles would mean very little in terms of what actually goes on inside the album,” said Lenny Kaye when discussing the record, “Like the early Cream, the Dead in concert tends to use their regular material as a jumping-off point, as little frameworks that exist only for what can be built on top of them.” 

Rolling Stones – Their Satanic Majesties Request

When The Beatles released their album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, they set a new precedent and sound within music that many bands wanted to recreate. Some did this successfully, and others did not. The Rolling Stones’ attempt, Their Satanic Majesties Request, was one of the records that didn’t come out too well. 

That being said, while it’s not the Rolling Stones’ best offering, there is still quality on display, given that it is The Rolling Stones. As such, this record is one of the perfect albums to have on as background music; you hear the familiar work of Rolling Stones but don’t feel compelled to pay too much attention.

Paul McCartney – McCartney

There are a number of reasons why The Beatles broke up, but one of the overwhelming factors was creative differences. John Lennon wanted to write more narrative-driven, honest music; meanwhile, like always, Paul McCartney was focused more on melody. McCartney’s affinity for the catchy chorus means his music is impossible to ignore, as you want to dance and sing along to every one of his tracks. 

That said, McCartney played it safe on his first solo album following The Beatles split. McCartney was a great songwriter, so even though these simple offerings are great, they’re not so catchy and impressive that you feel the need to drop everything you’re doing and start singing along. A fantastic yet ignorable album.

Spiritualized – Pure Phase

When Spiritualized released their record Pure Phase, it received mixed reviews. Many critics were confused by the droning ambient sounds that dominated the record. Now, with the power of hindsight, it’s clear the record is something truly special, as Spiritualized’s sound has continued to inspire bands decades later. 

Because of its atmospheric nature, this is an excellent record to let blend into the background. Jason Pierce himself compared the sound to rain hitting a windscreen, and the album has a natural twang that can seamlessly soundtrack any period in your life.

Cocteau Twins – Heaven Or Las Vegas

Heaven or Las Vegas is considered by many to be the Cocteau Twins’ best album, and if you’ve never heard it before, it only takes a couple of songs for you to recognise why it’s so special for so many. The band has an incredibly atmospheric shoegaze sound, which is perfectly personified in this record.

Heaven or Las Vegas has no skips, so it’s a great record to let play out relentlessly. Equally, the groundbreaking nature of the layered songs on the album, paired with its ambience and dreamy instrumentation, makes for one of the most beautiful ignorable albums on the planet.

Pedestrian Deposit – Dryers’ Hands

Noise music has always been complicated to try and justify to people, as listeners often criticise it for being inaccessible and hard to listen to. Initially, that was the whole point with noise music, as it was a non-verbal sign of protest. However, after decades of noise music making its way underground, some artists developed a different view of the genre.

Pedestrian Deposit is an excellent example of this changed attitude. They took what was once inaccessible and added various inflictions and sounds to add emotion to it. It remains noisy on its surface but has enough atmosphere to be a great background album. Pedestrian Deposit is one of the greatest noise acts on the planet, and this album is well worth a listen.