Callie is back with all the songs you need to listen to for the second phase of your heartbreak. Once you’ve gone through a breakup, and reached the point where you can remove those rose-colored lenses, turn on this playlist to reinforce your own independence and private worth.

  1. “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore” – Phantogram. At some point you’ll realize that, chances are, you’ve been romanticizing your ex-lover for a while. That isn’t to say that the time you spent together is invalid or sullied. But strong emotions post-breakup tend to warp memories and convince you that the only way to go on is to recapture the past. This song is for recognizing the place that you are now, sans nostalgia — and for realizing that the only way to go on is to go forward. (Plus, it helps that Phantogram turned anti-lovesickness into a radio-ready banger.)
  2. “Room For 2” – Dua Lipa. “Karma’s got a kiss for you” is the perfect one-liner for anyone who has felt wronged in a breakup. Dua Lipa maintains a calm and composed demeanor in this song that feels deliciously detached — as though she knows she has risen above this drama, above this heartbreak, but still wants to make sure her retaliation is heard. She sounds powerful and perceptive without ever coming off as condescending.
  3. “Better Off” – Quadron, Kendrick Lamar. This song is disarmingly haunting; as though it’s sung by a scorned assassin who’s moonlighting at an underground burlesque show in order to subtly — but threateningly — deliver a warning to her ex-lover. I know that’s weirdly specific, but listen to the song and tell me it’s not accurate.
  4. “Frontline” – Kelela. In Kelela’s own words, “There’s a confidence behind the leaving.” This song’s unapologetic tone plays well with the ambitious arrangement: the liberating swell of the chorus; the defiant percussion; the synthetic waves; and the rich, three-dimensional vocals that evoke both gentility and brutal ambition.
  5. “Fool to Love” – NAO. If NAO’s silky, sickly sweet vocals aren’t enough, her individualistic, galvanized lyricism is enough to pull you in. “Fool to Love” is particularly inspired. It plays with our parallel relationships to breakups and insecurities — as in, telling your toxic ex to fuck off and telling your self-doubt to fuck off can be intimately entwined and equally empowering. “It’s time for a stronger me” is the perfect thesis.
  6. “XXX 88” – MØ, Diplo. MØ confronts the departure of a lover, despite lingering feelings, with characteristic grace and maturity. Her embrace of fluidity, of risk and reward, sets an admirable example for anyone who struggles with sudden change. Knowing that “love is a dangerous business,” but also that “life changes all of us, it’s not your fault,” has the ability to ease both disappearances and arrivals.
  7. “You’re Not The One” – Sky Ferreira. Sky Ferreira — with her gritty, grungy, hallucinogenic rock songs — is the perfect harbinger for this message. “You’re Not The One” combines the freedom of letting go with the strength of empowerment. It manages to sound loose and fun while still maintaining the aura of self-assertion.
  8. “Your Silent Face” – New Order. New Order’s sprawling, funky masterpiece is not known for its lyrics. The unmistakable bassline, icy synthesizer, and carefully measured rhythm are what made it famous. But as it turns out, the lyrics are sneakily shady (it ends, iconically, with “so why don’t you just piss off?”) — and buried within a rhythm that lends itself perfectly to solitary bedroom dance parties as the sun goes down.  
  9. “Fuck With Myself” – Banks. The beauty and genius of this song is that we’re never sure whether Banks is praising or chastising herself. It’s confessional and subversive; it hits at that tender, fine line between self-esteem and self-sabotage. The duality of “I f— with myself more than anybody else” permeates each and every refrain; she has the capacity to love herself more than any lover could, but also to poison her own mind with self-imposed limits and insecurities. This struggle is present in every human experience, I think — particularly in a situation that may have you yearning for the past, questioning your decisions — and the power lies in deciding which voice to listen to. I choose the former.
  10. “Merry Happy” – Kate Nash. Although there’s a twinge of sadness and regret still present in Kate Nash’s retrospective, her viciously specific lyrics and infectious optimism make “Merry Happy” the perfect ending track. She suggests that you can feel your feelings, mourn your endings, and remember what once was — all while learning from the past and creating a new sense of self on your own terms.