From Wolf Alice to Julia Jacklin: 10 outstanding indie love songs from the 21st century
Love is perhaps the most exhausted topic in musical history. From the dreamy doo-wop of the 1950s to sex-fuelled rock and roll to 2000s pop chart-toppers, romance and longing have prompted love songs from thousands of artists, and it’s not hard to see why. There are few experiences more stirring, to artists and audiences alike, than love.
It’s a theme that takes up space in every genre, but it has just as easily transcended time. Love songs have existed for as long as music has existed, and they continue to retain relevance today. From the revival of a new form of soft, lovey indie folk to mushy modern hip-hop, artists are continually finding inspiration in their amorous adventures.
With the persistence of the theme and with so many artists having had their say on it, it seems that there should be little left to say on the topic. Really, while it might be the most prevalent muse of all time, it’s also an endless one. Modern love songs have been updated to chart experiences of dating in the modern age, from dire experiences on dating apps to love in the midst of a pandemic.
People will always be falling in and out of love, prompting new experiences of its intricacies and complexities. Consequently, people will always be looking to make and consume media that reflects that experience. Below, we’ve collated ten of the best sonic reflections of love from the 21st century.
10 indie love songs from the 21st century:
‘Be Careful With Yourself’ by Julia Jacklin
More often than not, Julia Jacklin’s musical output finds her in the throes of heartbreak rather than the bliss of love. Between the misplaced reassurance of ‘Good Guy’ and the crushing vulnerability of ‘Don’t Know How To Keep Loving You’, the Australian singer-songwriter seems to have rarely been lucky in love. On her most recent record, Pre-Pleasure, she finally matched her soft indie sound with an equally soft love story.
‘Be Careful With Yourself’ is just as kind and gentle as its title suggests. Over understated indie guitars and lovesick sighs, Jacklin playfully requests that her lover stops smoking, drives within the speed limit, and keeps all of their doctor’s appointments. She depicts a mundane kind of love, but that’s what makes it so beautiful – “I’m making plays for my future, and I plan on you being in it”, she declares.
‘Red With Love’ by Pom Pom Squad
Between cheerleader practices in 2021, Pom Pom Squad found the time to deliver one of the most underrated records in modern indie rock, Death of a Cheerleader. The record featured a song called ‘Red With Love’, which finds frontwoman Mia Berrin making impassioned declarations directed towards her lover.
Frantic guitars and “oohs” set the pace for her words as she whispers sweet statements like, “I need you closer and you’re not even an inch away”, and “Tomorrow I will love you more than I did yesterday”. It’s intense and intimate, the perfect depiction of the honeymoon phase.
‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’ by Wolf Alice
‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’ by Wolf Alice is a staple for modern indie lovers. The dreamy, shoegaze-inspired track is subtly idealistic instrumentally, but it refuses to hold back in its lyrics. It’s unafraid to enter the throes of puppy love, declaring, “I’m like a teenage girl, I might as well write all over my notebook that you rock my world, but you do you really do”. Rather than coming across as embarrassing, it’s all the more endearing for it.
Wolf Alice’s status as a mainstay in the lovey-dovey playlists of indie kids was only exacerbated with the single’s accompanying video. It follows a young couple through various journeys on public transportation – flirting, kissing, arguing, crying, making up – it tells the full story of a relationship in just under five minutes.
‘Love Letters’ by Metronomy
Metronomy’s ‘Love Letters’ is an old love song impersonating a modern indie track. It opens with a lengthy horn section before launching into pulsing percussion and tambourine. It’s a track with all the optimism of the love it describes.
Lead singer Joseph Mount’s protagonist can’t stop himself from writing love letters, nor does he want to. “And every day a chance inside a book of stamps to tell you what I’m up to, and say just how I feel”, he enthuses with an unrelenting emotional openness. It’s a breath of fresh air.
‘The Whole of the Law’ by Yo La Tengo
There’s an unexplainable comfort to Yo La Tengo’s soft, shoegazing indie rock sound. Between their layered vocals and understated, twangy guitars, they provide the perfect soundtrack for falling in love. ‘The Whole of the Law’ is perhaps their most intimate example.
It’s a track that’s half declarative and direct – opening with the line, “Well, I used to have the notion I could swim the length of the ocean if I knew that you were waiting for me” – and half subtle and shy. “Maybe I’m in love with you”, the vocalist hints, “That’s it, that’s the law, that’s the whole of the law”.
‘My Love Mine All Mine’ by Mitski
Mitski has honed the art of the love song more masterfully than any of her peers. Still, her songwriting is often more heartbreaking than heartfelt. ‘Your Best American Girl’ explored her experiences dating as a Japanese-American woman, while ‘Me and My Husband’ depicted a protagonist who had lost her identity to her relationship.
The singer-songwriter’s most recent full-length offering, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, is perhaps her most comprehensive contemplation of the subject matter, one which finally accepts that with love comes loss. ‘My Love Mine All Mine’ is the most beautiful articulation of this. In fact, it finds beauty in it. Hoping her love will outlive her, she asks, “My baby, here on earth, showed me what my heart was worth, so when it comes to be my turn, could you shine it down here for her?”
‘In A Good Way’ by Faye Webster
Faye Webster has a voice that lends itself to declarations of love. It’s uniquely sweet, verging on saccharine at times. On ‘In A Good Way’, it only serves to enhance the emotional intimacy of the song’s lyrics. “I didn’t know that I was capable of being happy right now, but you showed me how”, Webster begins.
Throughout the rest of the song, she continues to subvert expectations, immediately following sad phrases with her lover’s comfort. “You make me wanna cry in a good way”, she repeats over rising strings and romantic guitars. It’s an optimistic track about caring love.
‘Anything’ by Adrianne Lenker
Lush is perhaps the most apt word to describe Adrianne Lenker’s songwriting. From the devastatingly dense vulnerability of Big Thief to her honeyed solo work, she has found inspiration in all the pains and pleasures of love. Perhaps her most exquisite sonic discussion of the topic took the form of ‘Anything’ from her 2020 record, Songs.
‘Anything’ takes us through the mundanities of Lenker and her lover’s relationship – grocery lists, trips to the ER, family Christmases – amidst sweet and simple declarations of love. Over layered, cosy instrumentals, she sings, “I don’t wanna be the owner of your fantasy, I just wanna be a part of your family”. It’s an uncomplicated but endlessly caring love.
‘Big Time’ by Angel Olsen
‘Big Time’, from the album of the same name by Angel Olsen, is almost twee in its instrumentals. Warping guitars and Olsen’s accented vocals are almost reminiscent of a country love song.
Lyrically, the track pictures the mundanities of good morning kisses and coffee cravings, interspersed with intimacies like “Hanging onto every word that you said”. The song boils Olsen’s feelings for her comfortable love down to a fairly simple statement – “I’m loving you big time”, she repeats over and over. In its simplicity, it’s a gorgeous depiction of the subject.
‘Multiply’ by Dora Jar
‘Multiply’ finds Dora Jar in the early stages of romance, depicting it in all of its excitement and apparent enormity. The track starts out with simple indie rock guitars, exaggerated gasps, and declarations that “You’ll be in my life for a long time”. Her new lover has reintroduced her to fun and reopened her heart.
After the first two verses, though, those subdued indie guitars subside and give way to thunderous drums that convey all the exhilaration of the early stages of love. “I think about you twenty-five hours a day”, sings Dora Jar, barely intelligible over the caustic noise. It’s the perfect sonic representation of that initial fall.
