ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

The Best Indie Love Songs

Updated on January 7, 2014

I Love Indie Music!

It seems to me that some of the greatest songs written over the past couple of decades are done by "home-brewed" artists. They're goal isn't to be rich and famous, sellout stadiums and be the official spokesperson for Dr. Pepper. They write music for the love of it and many of the artists in this list bare their souls in the music they write. They love what they do as artists and we're just lucky enough that they share it with us.

Speaking of "love", when it comes to the same old "love" songs... many indie artists know how to mix it up and that's what I want to share with you here. Some of the best indie love songs ever written... at least from my point of view!

Photo Credit

Our Own Indie

Everyone has their own idea of what "indie" is and the label has changed overtime. "Indie" to me is an artist that is rarely played on the radio. Artists you actually have to research like a scavenger hunt for musical gold. If they do make the radio, it was more of an anomaly compared to the rest of their material. They don't sell out stadiums or pump out albums. When their material has just enough quirk in it for the average listener to not understand, they're indie.

Sweet & Happy Indie Love Songs

I love this song! It's a perfect, "Let's forget about the world because it doesn't matter and let's just focus on you and me..." love song. The National continue to put out great albums time after time, many of which are songs about relationships; both good and bad.

"Dreaming My Dreams" - The Cranberries

Probably one of my favorite songs on this entire list. Maybe not for everyone, but it holds an extra special meaning for me personally. It's a beautifully done song; about no matter your path in life, that there's always someone that will stand by you and be there for you.

"They Bring Me To You" - Joshua Radin

Not a powerful song, but very well done. Joshua Radin does a nice little love song ditty here that is sure to get stuck in your head and have you humming after a couple of listens.

"Can I Stay" - Ray LaMontagne

Ray's voice makes every song he sings that much better. "Can I Stay" is no exception and is sung like an adult lullaby that will have the love you and your special someone share being rocked to sleep. Umm... I don't know if that's exactly how you should think of it, but just give the song a listen and you'll understand what I mean.

"The Luckiest" - Ben Folds

I love Ben Folds! This often jovial artist can have you at your highest highs and put you there with some of the lowest lows. This song is beautifully done and I'm sure one that is played at many a weddings.

"Such Great Heights" - Iron & Wine

This song was originally done by the postal service, but Iron & Wine's version I think does a good job of slowing the song down and letting the love story be empathized more than the beat was in the original. Both are great songs, I just put this version slightly ahead of the original.

"Angels" - The xx

Deep, Dark & Somber Indie Love Songs

I'd place a bet that any "Indie Love Songs" list has this song on it. Such a simple tune, yet so deep and Ben Gibbard does a wonderful job of dealing with a topic that many people worry about and let's his love know that it doesn't matter, he'll always be there.

"Tapdance" - Kevin Devine

Kevin Devine is one of my all time favorite indie artists. His songs almost always are filled with wonderful synonyms and "Tapdance" relates to many of us what we probably have at one time experience with somebody else.

"Barricade" - Stars

This is definitely one of those darker love songs. The piano in this song is both beautiful and haunting at the same time. It tells a great story of two people, through their experiences, finding love through their common goals; but as they grow older things change and the singer wants to get back there.

"The Blower's Daughter" - Damien Rice

Such a powerful song with such simple lyrics; Damien Rice makes repeating a simple line like, "I can't take my eyes off of you..." or "I can't take my mind off of you..." and let's you feel the deep inner feeling of struggling to let someone go.

"The Animals Were Gone" - Damien Rice

I'm not sure if in this song he's singing about a love that died, or a love that has left that he didn't appreciate until she was gone. Either way, it's a beautiful and deep rainy day song. Damien Rice gets another one on this list because of the way he sucks his listeners in with his raw and emotional melodies.

"Winter Winds" - Mumford & Sons

Fairly new compared to the other artists on this list, but if Mumford & Sons can continue to put out albums like their first one, we're all going to be very lucky. Winter Winds is a wonderful little folk song about a persons tug of war on whether a relationship os really love or just something that is better than loneliness.

"Poppy" - TV on the Radio

Probably in my top 5 favorite artists list, TV on the Radio blows your mind with this deep love song. Overflowing with synonyms and a progressive melodic beat, "Poppy" will make you think about how they envision true love in a relationship. Give it a few listens, you'll be happy you did. (please excuse the youtube visuals... it was the best I could find.)

"C'est la Mort" - The Civil Wars

I don't know if everyone would consider The Civil Wars indie; but they remind me of a folky cross between The White Stripes and Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova. So that makes them "indie" enough for me. I also love this song. It's similar to "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" in it's story, but it's unique enough and the singers have such wonderful voices that work well together.

"No One's Gonna Love You" - Band of Horses

The title is pretty mis-leading as pertaining to be a love song, but this is probably one of the best love songs melodically that's on this list. Band of Horses write an incredible song where the lyrics read like a dying love or relationship and the other person still trying to hang on.

More Deep, Dark & Somber Indie Love Songs

Hard to find a video for this one... but I found an MP3 of it at archive.org... It's being recorded in a bar, but it fits the song perfectly with all the people talking in the background and then you hear this beautiful song like he's thinking out loud.

"Apartment Story" - The National

Another The National song added to the list; but they write good stuff. I love this one because my interpretation of it is that the characters in the song realize all of their dreams in life are passing them by and that their day to day tasks aren't really as important as they once thought they were. They're content just being wrapped up in each other and focusing on what they want instead of what they think they need.

"Colors" - Amos Lee

A great "I don't know what went wrong, but I miss you..." love song. Amos Lee has such a great voice and his music has a feel of "new school" soul about it.

Fun & Upbeat Indie Love Songs

Love'd this song ever since I listened to it many years ago. A super fun song and a little on the suggestive side; but nonetheless tells a story of how in a relationship... your special someone can drive you off the edge, but you still somehow can't bare to live without them.

"Stickshifts and Safetybelts" - Cake

A super hokey, upbeat indie love song! Cake is one of those great bands that never let you down with the songs they come up with. This song I believe was stuck in my head for a month the first time I heard it and my significant other heard me randomly belt it out that entire duration... lucky her!

"Fighting For My Love" - Nil Lara

This one's from a couple decades ago, and the artist hasn't produced much since; but it still gets my feet moving every time I hear it play. With such a great rhythm to this little jam, I don't know if it's the ultimate indie love song; but it's a great one to sing to.

"Firecracker" - Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams does a great job with this simple, folksy-blues upbeat ditty. Yeah... I guess that's how I would describe it. There's not much to this song other than the message of "I love you. I want to be with you. Be my Firecracker!"

"Fresh Feeling" - Eels

Eels songs usually are simpler in words and melodies; but are so deep in their subject matter. This one is upbeat and reminds me of two people starting to fall in love. This one is a pretty easy one to get stuck in your head after a couple listens, just a warning.

Updates Coming!

This page will be updated as I discover new songs or if users like yourself share your discoveries with me! Don't forget to bookmark so you can check back often to see what's new or subscribe to the RSS feed ...Thanks!

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)