If You Pull Me Apart, Don’t Swallow My Heart

Magnetophone “…And May Your Last Words Be A Chance To Make Things Better” – God, this song is like love dying in slow motion, extending every gutting moment until it just kills. And it’s so pretty! I’m not sure if this is a good song to hear if you’re involved in some kind of break up, because this could just put you over the edge, you know? (Click here for the Magnetophone site at 4AD.)

Starlight Mints “Submarine #3” – This song is a weird stew of mixed emotions, vacillating from joy to resignation to stomach-churning doubt from moment to moment. It’s rough and uneasy and a little like having emotional seasickness, so hey, the nautical theme works. All the guy wants is a bit of mercy, to dull the pain of the inevitable. He’s a lovelorn Billy Batson (“Holy Shazam!”) waiting for the other shoe to drop. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)