It’s What We’re Listening to Wednesday and heartbreak has never looked so good. This week, we’re spinning tracks that pair emotional wreckage with gorgeous production. These songs might devastate you, but they’ll do it in style; with strings, synths, and just enough swagger to keep you standing. Whether it’s longing dressed up as disco or sorrow wrapped in shimmering keys, every song here proves that sometimes the most glamorous thing you can do is feel everything.
What Cheyenne’s Listening To
Track One – “Flip A Switch” – RAYE
RAYE never does anything halfway, and “Flip A Switch” is a prime example of how she weaponizes pop precision. The track pulses with tension, slick synth stabs meeting a beat that feels like it’s daring you to move. It’s high-gloss and high-stakes, capturing the rage that comes after you’ve cried it all out and the kind of song you strut to, mascara smudged but chin up.
Track Two – “Tú” – maye
This one’s soft but piercing, like a whispered confession in the back of a cab. maye’s vocals float, anchored by a melody that’s romantic in a way that feels both tender and doomed. There’s an elegance to its restraint and everything feels suspended in time, like a memory you’re not quite ready to let fade.
Track Three – “When You Were Mine” – Joy Crookes
Crookes has a gift for blending old-school soul with modern melancholy, and “When You Were Mine” is a highlight. The strings and brass swoon, the drums keep a calm, cinematic pace, and her voice — full of ache and clarity — pulls it all together. It’s heartbreak with a martini glass in hand, aching but composed.
What Nathan’s Listening To
Track Four – “When You’re Smiling and Astride Me” – Father John Misty
This track is nothing if not intimate and a slow-burning, poetic plea wrapped in analog warmth. Father John Misty’s lyrics walk the line between earnest and ironic, but here they hit straight to the gut. It’s one of those songs that feels like it was written in a haze of candlelight and bad decisions.
Track Five – “Heavy” – Oh Wonder
Nathan’s second pick is one of my favourite songs. Don’t let the title fool you — “Heavy” floats more than it sinks. Bright piano chords and a catchy chorus carry lyrics about emotional weight, but there’s a lift to the whole thing, like someone finally exhaling after holding it in too long. It’s grief with a grin, bittersweet and buoyant, perfect for dancing through whatever you’re still processing.
Track Six – “Tangerine Sky” – Monogem
This one’s all dreamy synths and warm hues, like a sunset that makes you miss someone you’re trying to forget. Monogem has a way of turning nostalgia into something that shimmers instead of stings. You’ll want to live inside this song for a minute. Happy listening.
What Laneisha’s Listening To
Track Seven – “Drop It On Em” – Rimbaudian
A deep house track with a serious emotional undercurrent, “Drop it on em” pairs its thudding groove with echoing samples that feel like memories flashing by on a dark dancefloor.
Track Eight – “reset” – Visages & Alix Perez
This one builds slowly, all tension and shadow, until it explodes into something quietly euphoric. It’s cold, moody, and addictive — perfect for wandering the city alone with your hood up.
Track Nine – “sad piano house” Daphni
The title says it all: it’s house, it’s piano-driven, and it’s sad in a way that feels cathartic. A minimalist stunner that aches beneath the surface.
Until next time, here’s to feeling it all — and listening to good music while we do.
