This semester at 4E, we’ll be posting a playlist of the music featured in The Guide’s music pages, just in case you missed Friday’s Guide issue or were too lazy to download the tracks featured there. We want to help you get through the grind with a new playlist of music designed for the middle of the week. (Think of Guide Grooves as Friday Fixat10ns for the weekly grind.) And, each week, we’ll show the best new release The Guide missed.
This week: Yeasayer’s August 21 release Fragrant World, Jukebox the Ghost’s June album Safe Travels, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The xx.
Blue Paper — Yeasayer This song is a gem from Yeasayer’s album Fragrant World, released August 21. I fully agree with my friends over at The Guide that “Blue Paper” is remarkable because of its scintillating beats.
Longevity — Yeasayer According to Friday’s review, “Longevity” features “a Justin Timberlake-esque falsetto with saturated vocal effects.” I like this combination — it’s something Yeasayer has done well before and continues to do well now.
Chained — The xx Oh, The xx. You’ve done it once again. You’ve mixed tantalizing voices with calming beats and a fascinating percussion that makes this song culminate in powerful, yet understated “emotional crescendo,” We can’t wait for the full album, Coexist, to be released on Sept. 11.
Somebody — Jukebox the Ghost Though The Guide didn’t appreciate this song’s position as the first track on Safe Travels, I love this song. It’s a catchy song with a chorus that will get stuck in your head in a good way.
A La La — Jukebox the Ghost We may disagree on “Somebody,” but The Guide’s praise of “A La La.” This song never gets boring with “an engaging drum line and effective volume shifts.”
Today’s Supernatural — Animal Collective The Guide’s review of this song is spot on. I skipped it the first time I listened to it after two seconds, then I returned to it and hated it. I’ve listened to it five times now and I love it. this song really does”get better the more you listen to it.”
Strange Man — Red Hot Chili Peppers This song is a perfect example of why we love the Red Hot Chili Peppers: “crooning vocals, twanging bass and introspective lyrics” according to The Guide’s review.
Let’s Go — Matt & Kim I can’t wait for this Oct. 2 release, especially based off of how awesome this single is. The vocals float over the rest of the song in typical Matt & Kim fashion, but they’re experimenting (and succeeding) with new beats.
