Unfortified Castle

A R I Z O N A sonically track their narrator's heart opening up as they unexpectedly feel love.

...and the marching band rendition of the track I heard tonight.

Alabama Shakes strike a beautiful balance between the deeply personal and the globally applicable in the narrative of their debut single.

Sia presents a tale of self-reckoning, but also acceptance and ultimately confidence that she can at least healthfully keep her pain inside.

Grandbrothers blur the boundary between classical and electronic worlds with this powerful, piano-driven production.

BANNERS displays the longing for a feeling he may not really know... but the way he does it is compelling.

The Aston Shuffle expertly execute a slow, but sure build, capping it off with the most satisfying release in the final break.

I discuss a trio influences that lie behind one of my favorite songs from nearly a decade ago.

With a more restrained, yet emotive break, ODESZA reminded me that nothing is to be gained from wallowing in one's pessimism.

The industrial instrumental's dark, chilling nature makes it a great fit for the holiday — but it also isn't exclusively an October track.

Furthermore, the title echoes a message not as frequently heard in the breakup song canon: kill it off now to save yourself the pain later.

Miguel's most successful song is a modern configuration of the genre, with an old-fashioned word at its core.

In trying to be productive post-heartbreak, Solange captures the difficulty in resolving to face our most pressing problems.

Disclosure's masterpiece with Lorde has a downright outrageous beat and great lyric / instrumental coordination to drive home its narrative.

Mark Ronson and Camila Cabello combine for an anthem of post-heartbreak grief and processing.

John Newman's hit starts slowly, but he soon unleashes its northern soul flavor.

Yom Kippur offers me the opportunity to reflect as I bare my soul in the hope of bettering myself.

I hate that this beautiful song is the one that jumps out to me as fitting today’s mood, but that's how I'm feeling.

Sometimes you forget how much you love a song until you hear it for the first time in years. Thanks to autoplay, this is one of those songs.

Thank you, Alessia Cara, for providing a perspective to which I can so easily relate.