Not everyone says “I love you” the same way. Some people write it on cards, some show up with soup when you’re sick and some just want to hold your hand. But everyone needs a soundtrack for the season of love.
Quality Time
For these romantics, love is less about grand gestures and more about simply being together.
“Disintegration” by The Cure
“Disintegration” is moody, luscious and endlessly replayable. This is music for getting lost in the moment with someone. “Lovesong” perfectly captures it: “Whenever I’m alone with you / You make me feel like I am home again.”
“The Irma Thomas Collection: 1961–1966” by Irma Thomas
Soulful and timeless, Thomas sings of desperation and devotion in the “Irma Thomas Collection: 1961-1966.” Tracks like “I Need Your Love So Bad” ache with longing, the kind that makes you cancel plans just to sit next to your person on the couch.
Words of Affirmation
If love lives in what you say, you need direct lyrics that don’t dance around that feeling.
“Brand New Eyes” by Paramore
In “Brand New Eyes ” Hayley Williams practically shouts devotion from the rooftops. It delivers songs such as “The Only Exception” and “All I Wanted” with lyrics that are direct and unafraid to mean it.
“Romance” by Fontaines D.C.
For a band more known for cool detachment, tracks on “Romance” hit surprisingly tender. On “Favourite,” the simple confession “You’ve been my favorite for a long time” lands like the most obvious truth in the world. Sometimes all you need is that certainty.
Gift Giving
If you show love through mixtapes, baked goods or carefully wrapped presents, you need something soft and thoughtful to hum in the background.
“And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out” by Yo La Tengo
Gentle and intimate, “And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out” is a perfect listen for while you’re tying bows or making a Valentine. Track seven, “You Can Have It All” says it all.
“Baby I’m-A Want You” by Bread
Bread’s iconic soft-rock album “Baby I’m-a Want You” turns love into an offering, especially with “Everything I Own,” which literally promises to give everything up for the person that matters most. Other upbeat and romantic tracks from the album like “Down on My Knees,” “Dream Lady” and “Nobody Like You” express that desire to make your loved one smile.
Acts of Service
With this love language, love is action: walking them home, folding their laundry or making their coffee before they wake up.
“Sunflower” by The Beach Boys
With “Sunflower,” The Beach Boys sing of head-over-heels love. The entire album is warm and passionate, with songs like “All I Wanna Do” expressing that promise of care and support.
“All I wanna do
Is always bring good to you,
To give you all the love I can
And help you in whatever you do.”
“First Band on the Moon” by The Cardigans
In the same album that gives us the fun and flirty “Lovefool,” “First Band On The Moon” also delivers “Step On Me,” where The Cardigans trade teasing for total devotion. They sing of unconditional loyalty and bending over backwards for the person you love, coinciding with acts of service for your lover.
Physical Touch
Last but not least: physical touch. For some, love is tactile.
“Loaded” by The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground’s “Loaded” is sweet, simple and captures the softer side of physical affection: holding hands, kicking feet under the table and being a little clingy. “I’m Sticking With You” says it best with lyrics like:
“I’m sticking with you
‘Cause I’m made out of glue,
Anything that you might do
I’m gonna do too”.
“Heart Shaped World” by Chris Isaak
If “Wicked Game” doesn’t already set the mood, the rest of “Heart Shaped World” will. Smoky and sultry, it’s made for close quarters. This is slow-dance music. The kind that naturally pulls you a little closer; music that practically leans in.
No matter what your love language may be, or how you’re spending your Valentine’s Day, good tunes will carry you through it.
Worst case scenario, you can always fall in love with an album instead.
