Whether you like it or not, Valentine’s Day is here again. Here’s our favourite picks for the hopeless romantics…and just the hopeless.

Love Songs

Donna Lewis: “I Love You, Always Forever”

The fact that Lewis practically whispers the entire song makes you feel like her words are going right into your superior and inferior vena cava. No heart valve can stop her love.

Pink Mountaintops: “Closer to Heaven”

These Vancouver romantics play with such sincerity you can’t help but believe them when they sing about love conquering all. Cynics take shelter—melting hearts ahead.

Bry Webb: “Persistant Spirit”

Warm lap and pedal steel and a softly strummed acoustic guitar soothe as Webb croons about the one he loves in his honey-drenched voice. 

Luna: “The Owl and the Pussycat”

     Assembling lines from Edward Lear’s poem of the same name, lead singer Dean Wareham gently recites his love story while the simplistic arrangement of guitar and drum provides added warmth and tranquility.

Forever Alone

Fucked Up: “The Other Shoe”

“We’re dying on the inside” isn’t the happiest thing to turn into a shout-along chorus, but Fucked Up make it feel celebratory and strangely optimistic.

Lights: “And Counting…”

     This song perfectly embodies February in its wintry, synthesized sound and its ability to swing either in the direction of feeling painfully alone or hopelessly in love, depending on how you feel about the world’s most loved or dreaded holiday.

Lights: “And Counting…”

     This song perfectly embodies February in its wintry, synthesized sound and its ability to swing either in the direction of feeling painfully alone or hopelessly in love, depending on how you feel about the world’s most loved or dreaded holiday.

Gotye: “Somebody That I Used to Know”

This whimsical tune is for anyone who hates not being the first to move on. Considering its lyrical content, the song is has a surprisingly playful beat, which seems to perfectly match the bitter-sweet breakup sentiment it conveys.