After weeks of publicity and teasing, Joshua Bassett’s debut album “The Golden Years,” was released at 11 p.m. last night.
Bassett has been teasing an album for over a year, so fans are elated that it is here. It is safe to say that this album has no skips, and is one of the greatest debut-pop albums in this reviewer’s humble opinion.
The tracklist was released on July 10. The album has eleven songs, including previously released singles “The Golden Years,” and “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes.”
Bassett starts with “Biting My Tongue,” a bittersweet song about holding back feelings to be the bigger person. The lyrics in the chorus, “I’m biting my tongue, avoiding the words I can’t take back, whatever I’ve done, I just wanna love and never look back,” showcase Bassett’s talent for creative lyricism. This song is a promising opening track, with its moving lyrics, euphonious vocals, and lively instrumentals.
The album ends with “Look How Far You’ve Come,” an encouraging message reminding listeners that life gets better.
At first listen, Bassett’s debut album shows promise for his future music. Though short, his effort and talent make this album a 5/5.
Tracks 7 and 10 are the best songs on the album, and tears will be spilled while listening (at least, this reviewer shed a few).
Track 7, “Wildfire,” is about love that burns both parties in the relationship. The lyrics “We let it burn then called it love,” and “You asked for a light now we’ve started a wildfire,” are particularly heart-wrenching. This song includes multiple buildups/crescendos which adds to the idea that his love is in flames.
Track 10, “Mirror,” is about the loss of individuality. Bassett sings about how he can hardly recognize the person who he has become. The lyrics “I don’t recognize the face in the mirror” and “I wish I could talk to my mom,” punches listeners in the gut.
All in all, “The Golden Years,” deserves every award under the sun, as it is beautiful, sweet, and heartbreaking all at once. It deserves a listen.
“Encapsulating the bitter-sweet nostalgia of my late teens and early twenties, my debut album is a love-letter to ‘the golden tears’ of my life thus far…it’s a genre-bending journal entry from the bottom of my heart,” Bassett said.
