Soundtracks Surrounding the Sweetheart Season

Valentine’s Day may be behind us, but is it ever too late to set the mood for love? Whether you are nursing a new passion, cultivating self-love, or showering your partners and friends with affection, the A&L team has curated the perfect playlist to put you in the mood for love. 

Singles Rise Up – Amber’s Recs: 

“Love Galore” by SZA ft. Travis Scott 

As one of the defining tracks from SZA’s debut album, “Ctrl,” “Love Galore” captures the emotional roller coaster of being in a toxic relationship. But listening to it more closely, it’s also a celebration of staying single, or at least realizing you should be. SZA starts off the song by setting the tone of someone who wants love — real, genuine love, not the “wyd” at 2 a.m. kind. She goes on an internal monologue of someone who’s close to blocking a number, but isn’t quite sure if self-respect or boredom will win tonight. Why this is a song for singles is the self-awareness shown through the track. She knows the relationship is toxic and floats above it, rather than entertaining it, asking, “Why you bother me when you know you don’t want me?” but she “won’t cry over spilled milk.” Travis Scott comes in at the second part of the song to reaffirm the case for singlehood. His lyrics embody the guy who’s “busy” all week, but conveniently free after 10 p.m. on a weekend. Eventually, this behavior makes you realize that nonchalance and emotional unavailability aren’t worth sacrificing your peace. Overall, “Love Galore” isn’t anti-love, but anti-settling. Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is to choose yourself (and not answer that text).

“Nice To Each Other” by Olivia Dean 

If you could ward off chaotic situationships with a song, it would be this one. In “Nice To Each Other,” Olivia Dean emphasizes just relaxing. No dramatic confessions, no overthinking, and no “what are we’s?” This song just allows you to vibe with what’s going on around you and not build your entire schedule over some crush. With a soft upbeat melody, Dean’s lyrics have an undertone of confidence. She’s not begging for more or spiraling over mixed signals. She’s willing to try out whatever’s going on between them, but at the same time, “doesn’t want a boyfriend” and is totally fine with it not working out. It’s not the end of the world if the talking stage goes dead. In the age of Gen Z romance, the labeling, expectations, and unspoken rules can get overwhelming. However, this song reminds us that you don’t need to lose yourself when you like someone. “Nice To Each Other” reveals a secret third option that most of us don’t realize, which is that you can just enjoy your own company. This song doesn’t mean that you should be against relationships, but what you should be doing is making sure your boundaries aren’t being crossed. So go out there, have fun flirting (responsibly), and if the soft launch doesn’t happen, it’s all good.

Oldies But Goldies – Mila’s Recs:  

“Soul Love” by David Bowie 

“Soul Love” is the second track of David Bowie’s famous album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars,” home to many of Bowie’s major successes, like “Starman” and “Moonage Daydream.” “Soul Love” is as eclectic, electrifying, and beautiful as the other tracks on this album, exploring deeply one of the most mysterious human qualities: love. Over the beat of the drums, guitar riff, and psychedelic backing vocals, Ziggy, the alien protagonist of the album, observes all the kinds of love humans can feel. From young love between “a boy and a girl talking new words,” to the “stone love,” born from grieving those who have passed, and the gut-wrenching “soul love,” that feels almost spiritual. The human heart is subjected to many kinds of passions, lusts, longing, and adoration. “Soul Love” is a reminder that we can do little but feel this emotion so tied to the human essence. Love may be “careless in its choosing … descend on those defenseless … and spark confusion,” but still all we have is a “love for love,” and what could be better than that? 

“You’re Still The One” by Shania Twain

Can you name a more iconic ’90s lover-girl song than Shania Twain’s “You’re Still The One”? You might be able to (the '90s are filled with great love songs), but I’ll always stand behind “You’re Still the One” as both my go-to karaoke song and the epitome of ’90s romance. The lyrics on this one are pretty straightforward; there isn’t much diving to do … still, there is something about Twain’s voice, the drums, the backing vocals, and the iconic guitar that makes “You’re Still The One” something really special. The feeling of finding your person is universal, beautiful, and touching, even if you haven’t quite found them yet, so every time the song starts, I blast the volume on my phone and scream the lyrics as though I have already found the one and only love of my life (I have not). Instead, I think of my best friend, who is my platonic partner for life, and who also loves this song! So, Shania Twain is for all the lovers out there: single, taken, yearning. And it would be remiss not to point out the fantastic covers this song has collected over the years, including the beautiful Boygenius take, a jazzy Lake Street Dive rendition, and even a Harry Styles version! Put Shania Twain on speaker, grab your loved ones by the hand, and tell them just how glad you are that they are “still the one” for you. 

Sonically Cinematic – Jayda’s Recs:

“Beautiful as You” by Zach Hood

Every single night, I walk outside and stare up at the stars out of genuine, almost embarrassing awe. There’s something about the breathtaking night sky that makes me feel small and infinite at the same time, and I chase that feeling constantly. So when Zach Hood sings “’Cause I've been everywhere, I’ve seen everywhere in front of my eyes” — and still chooses to look at someone instead — something in me short-circuits. To be told you’re more beautiful than everything the universe has to offer? I can’t even wrap my head around receiving a compliment that big. That is an enormous thing to say to someone. The kind of compliment that would make me feel like I was being lied to, honestly, because how do you compete with the entire universe?

“Beautiful as You” sonically feels like the first warm day after a long winter. It opens gently with soft acoustic guitar, almost hesitant, like Hood is working up the courage to say what he means. Then the production blooms. Fluid pop melodies melt into skittish R&B undertones, and there's an earnest folk quality underneath everything that keeps it grounded and human. The lyrics stay simple, which feels intentional. This song isn’t trying to impress you lyrically but rather make you feel something, and it succeeds completely. It reminds me of early Ed Sheeran in the best way. This song was made for a movie soundtrack, and I mean that as the highest compliment. It’s cinematic without being dramatic, romantic without being corny. I was hooked from the first thirty seconds, and I think you will be too.

“Ruby Sparks” by Monét Ngo

There’s a very specific feeling that comes with realizing the person you built up in your head was mostly a projection — a character you wrote, cast, and directed entirely on your own. “Ruby Sparks,” named after the 2012 film about a writer who literally manifests his dream girl into existence only to discover she was never real to begin with, captures that exact realization. But instead of writing a breakup song or an apology, Monét Ngo stays in the dream. The song sounds like the inside of that delusion. He pitch-shifts his entire voice down for the duration of the track, and the effect is genuinely disorienting, where it’s slow, hazy, and cinematic in a way that feels less like a stylistic choice and more like a narrative one. It feels like being inside a dream that’s slightly too warm, slightly too slow, where everything looks familiar but nothing is quite right. The production blends indie rock grit, R&B smoothness, and flashes of pop-punk energy into something that builds quietly and patiently rather than exploding all at once. “Ruby Sparks” is the kind of song I put on and then look up twenty minutes later, realizing I’ve replayed it four times without noticing. If you want something that truly sounds like nothing you’ve heard recently, this is it.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, the Valentine’s season is all about what feels good for you. Hopefully, some of these songs can get added to that playlist for a chill Galentine’s hangout, a romantic date with your significant other, or a quiet night in your room. No matter the vibe, just press play and let the music remind you that love — in all forms — is worth celebrating.