The second full-length from Jayda G, Guy is a more personal and thematic record than 2019's Significant Changes. Known for her infectious enthusiasm during DJ sets, Jayda's sophomore record is titled in tribute to her late father William Richard Guy, addressing heavy themes of mortality and loss. With regard to its context, Guy's sound is nonetheless bubbling over with positivity and features a greater focus on Jayda's vocals and production abilities.
At ten tracks, Guy is a lean dance album. Interspersed with home recordings of her father recounting his own lived experiences which led him to relocate to British Columbia from the United States, each track touches on Jayda's relationship to him. Singles "Blue Lights" and "Circle Back Around" are heartbeat-elevating dancefloor bangers with pulsating synths and charging drums; the songs recount her father's encounters with police during the race riots in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination.
However, despite the heavy subject matter, there simply isn't a melancholic song on Guy (with the exception of closing track "15 Foot"). Known for her track selection across genres of disco, funk, deep house and more, Jayda's production is comfortable and confident in its own identity. Like her excellent 2021 DJ-Kicks compilation and live setlists, Guy showcases a wide array of energies and moods, individually reaching that space of levity that dance-pop records should.
To those familiar with her production style, the album may feel like familiar territory, but unlike Significant Changes — which predominantly featured instrumentals harkening to Chicago-house — Guy showcases Jayda as a performer and narrator. Her vocals are weightless, and the tracks grow organically around them.
The record is an achievement of pop-house production, and Jayda's performance throughout is earnest and enthralling — It's a strong effort and vital evolution in her ever-shifting career.
(Pirates Blend)At ten tracks, Guy is a lean dance album. Interspersed with home recordings of her father recounting his own lived experiences which led him to relocate to British Columbia from the United States, each track touches on Jayda's relationship to him. Singles "Blue Lights" and "Circle Back Around" are heartbeat-elevating dancefloor bangers with pulsating synths and charging drums; the songs recount her father's encounters with police during the race riots in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination.
However, despite the heavy subject matter, there simply isn't a melancholic song on Guy (with the exception of closing track "15 Foot"). Known for her track selection across genres of disco, funk, deep house and more, Jayda's production is comfortable and confident in its own identity. Like her excellent 2021 DJ-Kicks compilation and live setlists, Guy showcases a wide array of energies and moods, individually reaching that space of levity that dance-pop records should.
To those familiar with her production style, the album may feel like familiar territory, but unlike Significant Changes — which predominantly featured instrumentals harkening to Chicago-house — Guy showcases Jayda as a performer and narrator. Her vocals are weightless, and the tracks grow organically around them.
The record is an achievement of pop-house production, and Jayda's performance throughout is earnest and enthralling — It's a strong effort and vital evolution in her ever-shifting career.