Entertainment

Delve Into The World Of Cottagecore With This Cozy Playlist

If the TikTok-famous aesthetic was music, what would it sound like?

When Taylor Swift released folklore, the term "cottagecore" was thrown around as a descriptor of its sound. An aesthetic born from the starry-eyed young minds on TikTok and Tumblr, cottagecore is a simple enough concept: knitting, baking, foraging, farming, and similar trappings of a quaint existence all fall under the umbrella. Functionally, imagine life in the woods. Spiritually, cottagecore feels like a yearning for simpler and uncomplicated days.

When NYLON tasked ourselves to uncover more cottagecore-sounding songs that could sit alongside folklore, we found ourselves drawing up a moodboard ranging from the verdant folk of Big Thief, to the Miyazaki-like wonder of Japanese composer Hiroshi Yoshimura. Dive into it after the jump, and follow the playlist on Spotify.

"betty" - Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift's dip back into country features nostalgic storytelling that feels as warm as an old blanket.

"poison arrow" - yeule

Perhaps a tune to play after you mistakingly forage your first poisonous mushroom.

"pictures of flowers" - Jess Williamson, Hand Habits

This slow-paced folk tune from singer-songwriters Jess Williamson and Hand Habits is a sweet indulgence.

Mexican Summer

"Cattails" - Big Thief

There's not a song more green and pastoral-sounding on this playlist than Big Thief's prismatic "Cattails."

"GREEN" - Hiroshi Yoshimura

The delights of Hiroshi Yoshimura's "environmental music" (a modest descriptor) seem to align with the wider aspirations of the #cottagecore aesthetic: warmth and simplification.

Light In The Attic Records

"County" - Alex G

Dark folk unfurling equally dark tragedies.

Domino

"The Barrel" - Aldous Harding

Cryptic and eccentric folk that comes across more like a fairytale with a lesson.

4AD

"Lilacs" - Waxahatchee

You can almost smell the flowers while listening to this one.

Molly Matalon

"Wild Heart" - Ada Lea

Plucky guitar makes this introspective song flitter by like a hazy afternoon daydream.

"Moon Begins" - Florist

Florist's naturalistic songwriting — of songbirds, death, and light in the trees — feels ideal for the cottagecore universe.

"Garden Song" - Phoebe Bridgers

Is there a more perfect tune for tending to your garden?

Dead Oceans

"Giving Up" - Whitney

Bask in the warmth of Whitney's eternal summer.

"Bobby" - Beabeadoobee

This acoustic tune, as bleak as it may seem, channels the quaint introspectiveness of cottagecore.

Dirty Hit

"Kitty's Farm" - Kitty

Twinkling xylophone and Zelda-like flutes make this instrumental track a dreamy escape.

Pretty Wavvy

"The Bug Collector" - Haley Heynderickx

A tenant of cottagecore seems to be appreciating the wonders of life no matter how small. On this Heynderickx tune the microscope turns to the critters of the Earth.

Mama Bird Recording Co

"Secret Medicine" - Vagabon

The warm, crackly texture of Vagabon's "Secret Medicine" makes it sound like an outdoor serenade at dusk.

Vagabon Music

"Japan" - Ryuichi Sakamoto

Flute and faint bird song make this track by the renowned Japanese composer sound like it waltzed straight out of a Miyazaki film.

MIDI

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