Every Song I Love is a series where I attempt to write about every song that I love, or die trying. Sometimes I’ll explain why I love them, sometimes I’ll tell the stories behind how I fell in love with them, sometimes I’ll do both. Most importantly, I hope you love them too.

For as long as there have been songs, there have been sad songs. We all, sometimes, want to listen to songs that make us cry, even if we’re not exactly sure why. I even wrote a whole blog about songs that have made me cry, although admittedly in many cases it was context as much as the song itself. We now even have the concept of the ‘sad banger’, a danceable song, but with lyrics about heartbreak (the concept being much older than the name), of which Dancing On My Own by Robyn is the arcethypal example.

Four Degrees by Anohni takes the sad banger to the next level. A banger it certainly is, epic electronic-pop which is ready for the floor. At least in theory. I have no idea if it ever actually gets played in clubs as I’m too old to frequent them myself nowadays. But I reckon you could if you wanted to.

The song goes well beyond sad though. The subject is climate change, in particular the impact of a temperature increase of the titular four degrees. This impact, as the song describes, is the boiling of the oceans and the death of many, many animals both land and sea. It could easily make for an unloveably earnest or hectoring song in the wrong hands, but with Anohni you can tell she feels it deep in her heart and bones, and her voice expresses those feelings so clearly that you can’t help but share them. A sad banger, no but a despairing banger? A terrifying banger? Perhaps.

It raises the age old question of why we enjoy upsetting or scary art. Usually the answer is that it gives us the opportunity to experience the full range of human emotions, but at a safe remove. A horror film may be scary, but we know it’s not real. Four Degrees is different though. The disturbing scenario spelt out feels all too plausible, and makes it hard not to think of the end of the world, a terrifying prospect.

So, why do I love Four Degrees so much? Of course it’s partially because of the song itself, epic and thrilling in all the best ways, a song I would love even if the lyrics were in a language I could not understand. But also, I think it makes me feel a little better to know that someone else out there cares about the world we are destroying. There may not be enough of us who care, are those of us who do care may not be able or willing to do enough to prevent it happening, but at least for now we are not alone.