“So You Wanna Be a Superhero,” Carissa’s Wierd

Lead singer Jenn Ghetto wants to be a superhero—that’s what she keeps insisting as she essentially lists symptoms of depression in her verses. The hardest-hitting part of the track is when she finally admits that her dreams may be realized too late. Her voice rings almost as if it’s just in your head. “I’ll make you proud someday,” she promises. “I just won’t be around to see your face.”

“Wake,” The Antlers

After his terminally ill loved one passes away, the narrator of Peter Silberman’s concept album “Hospice” confides that “Now that everyone’s an enemy, my heart sinks.” The entire song is one long apology, culminating in “When your helicopter came and tried to lift me out, I put its rope around my neck.” But by the end, he’s the one who’s forgiving her—the song ends with eight repetitions of the line “don’t ever let anyone tell you you deserve that.”

“Breakfast in Bed,” Dntel ft. Conor Oberst

Watching someone you love go through pain is worse than taking it all upon yourself. That’s why Conor Oberst’s accusations (“You said you wanna die, now you say you wanna live”) turn so quickly into brutally honest admissions of love (“We can lay around, you can kiss me until the maids come kick us out”).

“How To Disappear Completely,” Radiohead