Songs for the Heartbroken
Top 7 Indie Picks to Keep Listeners Company on The Lonely Nights
These are songs that rip out the sutures and then sew them back up. These are songs about pain; songs to let people know they’re not alone.
Indie is potentially the best genre to convey this feeling and while there are many more songs to help aching hearts out during the hard times, this is a handpicked list to start with. Perhaps the list will help broaden a few musical horizons and lead people towards a new musical genre while guiding the aching hearts back home.
- "Inmates" by The Good Life
"Inmates" clocks in at about nine minutes and while most songs that length are unbearable, this song is something listeners will want to put on repeat. It chronicles a relationship from start to finish. This was a relationship that was dead on arrival, it wasn't ever going to last and it's obvious that both parties knew this right from the get-go.
The wonderful guitarwork of band, The Good Life, plays a key role in setting the proper mood and the duet between real life ex's Tim Kasher and Jiha Lee are simple perfection. The fact that the pair of musicians were once romantically involved adds certain depth to the song.
- "Where Does The Good Go" by Tegan and Sara
This song is more geared to a feminine audience, but the meaning is universal. Instead of being a battling duet between two lovers, it is a single voice that has been left in the dust. Though, this song is far from being your typical "woe is me" tune. It goes through the stages of rejection, sadness, anger, acceptance.
"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't find me attractive Look me in the heart and tell me you won't go Look me in the eye and promise no love's like our love Look me in the heart and un-break broken."
- "Nothing Better" by The Postal Service
Just as the last song was geared towards females, this one is more for the sensitive men out there. The lyrics are at times obscure, but there is a profound meaning in them that most people discover while listening.
A unique aspect of this song is that it shows that women aren't the only ones that have difficulties getting over relationships. If effects everyone the same way and Gibbard's amazing lyricism portrays that fact beautifully.
- "Face The Facts" by The Little Ones
This tune is a bit more obscure than the previous one. It's lyrics are very poetic and require some analysis. While the lyrics may be a bit complicated for some, it's the music that catches the ears of listeners.
It's a bit more upbeat than the other selections on this list, but every depressed night needs a little pick me up, right?
- "Twilight" by Elliot Smith
Elliot was truly a find, his music was harsh and realistic. There was no facade or false pretenses, he meant what he was saying. His voice was one that spoke for anyone that had ever had a hard time, anyone that had ever led a difficult life. He connected with regular people on an intimate level which is something that not many artists can accomplish.
This song exposes the reality of being an adult in a relationship. They aren't always perfect and they don't always work out, every now and again people are pulled in different directions whether they act on it or not.
- "So Let Go" by The Good Life
Kasher's work appears on this list a few times because he really embodies the spirit of a broken romantic, it seems to be his guiding light. His music is powerful because the feelings he sings about are the ones he feels on a daily basis.
He is the modern day trash poet and Charles Bukowski would probably be proud. Each song is very much a story and each story is very genuine. This particular story points out all of the things one could do in their relationship to make it work out, but also that those things won't ever happen.
- "Goodbye Waves In The Driveway" by The Rocket Summer
This song captures a fight in the most beautiful way. An angry fight isn't something that is typically considered to be beautiful, but this song reconfigures that whole notion. In just one line, The Rocket Summer, captures the essence of a romantic squabble.
"There's so much love clenched within our fists."
