There is no shortage of breakup songs in the pop universe. Most of these focus on the most intense or painful emotions that separations unearth; the anger, the heartbreak, even the desire for revenge.
Songs like that are very useful of course. It’s better to express rage towards and ex in the privacy of your apartment while listening to Alanis or Justin Timberlake or Gloria Gaynor than it is to channel that rage into something that might get you stuck with a restraining order or worse.
But an underrated sub-genre of breakup song is the type that includes a sprinkling of the typical ingredients – anger, regret, guilt – but that settles on forgiveness as its emotional foundation.
Enter “No Hard Feelings” by Wolf Alice: a song to remind us that after all the other catastrophic moments of a breakup pass, eventually forgiveness and acceptance will creep in.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. Aside from some minor synth stuff, the bass guitar is the only instrument to accompany the voice. It makes for a nice contrast with lead singer Ellie Rowsell’s upper register.
2. Two references to more intense breakup songs: in the first verse the words “Bad Blood” bring to mind Taylor Swift, and in the second the reference to Amy Winehouse’s “Love is a Losing Game.” Significant, however, that these references are in the first and second verses.
3. I’m a sucker for a nice metaphor, and the last verse serves up a dandy: The threads that kept us together / Were already wеaring thin / Would we ever havе tied the knot? / Well, how long is a piece of string?
Recommended listening activity:
Looking at a scar on your body from long ago and remembering that we are built to heal.