Entry 321 - Woodkid - The Golden Age

 

I'm not sure that I'm quite ready to write about this album yet, but I'm going to try. I first came across Woodkid right around the time that The Golden Age was released. I had no idea how big he was as an artist or how popular the single Run Boy Run was... I just knew I loved the album.

I'm not even sure how to describe the music contained on the album. Is it classical? Is it pop? Is it something else? Whatever it is, it uses classical instrumentation (orchestra) with conventional song structures for the most part.

Some songs like the aforementioned Run Boy Run are incredibly powerful and bombastic in their delivery. Others are more subtle and require a more discerning ear. Boat Song in particular has an interlude where trumpets play a soft melody accompanied by a piano that slowly swells into this incredible yet sombre crescendo. It's probably my favorite part of the album.

No matter how many times I listen to this album, there are always points where I am moved... strongly. Yoann Lemoine's voice is so distinctive and so incredibly venerable during the entire album it's hard not to be. Everything feels like an intimate recollection of events that happened before, and we are able to share these moments with the narrator.

I don't think that these words are even close to how powerful this album is to me. This is one of the strongest records of the 2010's and I am honored to have it in my collection.