Four Track Friday
Episode 33: Valentine's Edition

Hey Everyone,

It has recently come to my attention that some people are unaware of the playlist links that I put at the bottom of these emails. What misery this has caused! Be sure to follow on Spotify or Apple Music.

With that behind us, I have an exciting announcement to make. Elliot has brought professional grade logos to Four Track! He sent me over a dozen unique designs, so I'll use a different one every week for a while. You'll notice the first of these topping the email, which comes from some inspiraton Scott sent me a while ago. Please chime in about the logos over the coming weeks!

Additionally, Elliot is also going to host next week's episode. After he and I spent large amounts of time at university swapping songs, you've all heard Elliot's musical influence on me. What's more, those of you who have passed me the aux cord in person have undoubtedly heard his playlists as they are still some of my favorites on Spotify. So look forward to next week!

This week we have four love songs in honor of Valentine's day. Hopefully something here emotionally connects with you.

French indie - (You Can't Blame It On) Anybody by Phoenix

It's no secret: Phoenix is my favorite musical act of all-time with Alphabetical being my favorite album. Even if this was the only album from this group of four from Versailles, France, I would probably still pick them as one of my "two artists for the rest of my life." Lucky for us, though, they have released six albums since 2000, one of which being the immensely popular "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix," which you definitely know from its hit track "1901".

While all of their albums are poetic, this album captures the excitement, contradictions, and exhaustion that so often come along with love. What's more, this is one of those albums that, in reality, is one continuous track and listening top to bottom is truly the best way to experience it.

I had to pick this individual track, though, because it wraps up the mood on the album better than any other. Similar to the style of Momento, it tells a love story simultaneously forwards and backwards. The refrain describes a melancholic end while the verses a flowering beginning. In the middle of all this you hear Thomas Mars singing the outright contradictions, "Day is night, right is wrong / Love is all, love is evil." Putting it all together you have a track that can come off as comforting, uplifting, or depressing, all depending on what you bring to it. And that is the type of art I enjoy the most.

Dark electro pop - Four Walls by Broods

How could I send out a week of love songs without this one from the wonderfully emotional Georgia and Caleb Knott. The memorable line "I wanna make you feel how I feel when I'm listening to love songs," makes the choice clear enough.

Named Broods to represent family and their somewhat brooding tone, these siblings from New Zealand have been releasing touching tunes since 2013. It's a joy to listen to their sonic evolution, beginning with "Bridges", continuing to "Heartlines" (penned by Lorde), and most recently "Everything Goes (Wow)".

For me, this track highlights the vulnerability of romantically connecting with someone else and the track's production does a lot to bring out this mood. Georgia airily performing her own background singing, Caleb's heavy piano chords, and the space between the words in the chorus do a lot to slow us down and draw us into the song.

I'm trying hard to make you love Broods, but I don't wanna try too hard!

German raop - In Love (feat. Teesy) by Cro

After recently being reminded how fun it is to speak German, I have really dug back into the country's music. Rediscovered just in time for this episode, this one isn't part of Cro's standard repertoire, which would normally include more upbeats hits like "Traum" and "Einmal um die Welt".

The panda-mask-trotting rapper from southwestern Germany describes his music as a combination of rap and pop ("raop," get it?) and he's right on the money. With seemingly no effort, Cro is able to deliver catchy tracks while still displaying quite a bit of cleverness and rythm in his rapping.

In this one he teams up with Teesy to deliver something more on the heart-wrenching side as they reflect on a relationship that would be better off ended, but they love nonetheless. The English refrain "I'm in love" highlights the confusion, which is apparently so strong it brings out a separate language than the rest of the song. Even without knowing German, the sound of the song is really enjoyable.

American indie - Didn't See It Coming by My Brothers and I

I have gone back and forth about what song should round out this week for hours, but finally landed on this one from Erik, David, and Scott Wurgler and their friend, Jordan Roach.

I originally found this group at a backyard Sofar show in Greenwood, Seattle and can remember just how struck I was by the talents David's vocals. The group's cover of Shawn Mendes' "Lost in Japan" was an absolute groove and I'm glad to see they've uploaded a version to YouTube.

This is the one track of the week that describes looking forward to a love-filled future. It's filled with almost endlessly replayable soft harmonies and a heartwarming story. Stay tuned, too, because the band plans to release a new album this year!

Of course, don’t forget to reply with what you liked, didn’t like, and what you’ve been listening to.

And, as always, this week’s tracks are added to the collectors for all weeks' tracks on Spotify and Apple Music.

Cheers,
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