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Band Aid for a Broken Heart

What better day than February 14 to revel in the lingering bitterness of that last painful break-up? Six Rhody troubadours provide the perfect soundtrack for wallowing in love gone wrong.

God Should’ve Made You Ugly, Ben Pilgrim
The song: The Providence singer/songwriter mixes ramshackle charm with shades of folk god Woody Guthrie for a sloppy, heartfelt lament to the cruel and the beautiful. The sentiment: “God should’ve made you ugly, ’cause that’s what you act like.”

Spanish Eyes, Triangle Forest
The song: These Providence indie rockers issue a techno-twinged indictment of a fickle former love. The sentiment: “They’ll abuse you cruelly, and you’ll rue those Spanish eyes.”

All the Night Without Love, Elvis Perkins
The song: A Brown alum and son of the late Anthony Perkins and Berry Berenson, singer/songwriter Perkins croons a hushed, bittersweet melody of late-night longing. The sentiment: “You once caused all my cells to shimmer.”

Diamond Rings, Deer Tick
The song: Providence native John McCauley and Pawtucketers Dennis and Chris Ryan will win fans of Jackson Browne and Gram Parsons with this gorgeous finger-picked hymn about a crumbling relationship. The sentiment: “You said you wanted a better life. Will you tell me what you find?”

To Ohio, Low Anthem
The song: With a zither and Tibetan singing bowl, Providence musicians Ben Miller, Jeffrey Prystowsky and Jocie Adams perfect Dylanish despair that love will never come again.
The sentiment: “Once you’ve found love, you don’t know how to find new love.”

By Jamie Samons
Illustration by Emily Lisker