Article by: Thomas Taylor
Golden Hour is the newest album from hit making producer Kygo, through his Palm Tree Records imprint on Sony Music, and it is as chill and welcoming as a cool pool after a hot day. The album has a dancy ambient sound with big-name features and expert level production up and down the tracklist, all while continuing Kygo’s commanding leadership of the tropical house genre he and Jimmy Buffet helped co-create.
After three years without an album release, the 28 year old Singaporean-born Norwegian DJ has produced a chart topping album that delivers on all fronts. The songs are catchy, and bring the listener back to better times. Surprisingly melancholic at times with songs like “Hurting” featuring Rhys Lewis, the full production really builds and swells in typical tropical Kygo fashion, with features from crossover stars like Tyga, OneRepublic, Zac Brown, and many more.
Overall, this album feels well orchestrated. Tracks like “How Would I Know” featuring Oh Wonder are a little lackluster in comparison to the high standard set by tracks like “Could You Love Me,” but ultimately all 18 singles are redeemable in their own way. The album is seemingly Kygo’s invitation to dip a toe into his sound with a confident wink.
The album was purportedly born in 2018, in the midst of heavy touring for the veteran producer, and as a result, helped launch his new imprint Palm Tree Records on Sony Music. The hard work that went into the album over the subsequent years truly shines through in every song and mix.
Kygo’s posthumous remix of Whitney Houston’s cover of “Higher Love” is really energetic and fun, but we’ve heard it before. In a similar vein to recent hip-hop and electronic dance music crossover tracks like Wreckno and GriZ’s “Medusa” and the Zeds Dead and Subtronics remix of Atmosphere’s “God Loves Ugly,” it is especially gratifying to see Kygo work in the same direction featuring Tyga and Zara Larsson on the song “Like It Is” for a totally fresh sound.
For those still learning the EDM landscape, this album introduces a whole slew of incredible vocalists with deep catalogs; for that reason alone it’s worth the price of admission. And despite some of the tracks not delivering all the time, this album seriously comes correct with a fresh Summer feel and tons of crowd-pleasing tunes. Kygo must have been in a creative wonderland with all the talented artists he features on the album, and there are enough feel good vibes on this album to keep you dancing all summer long.
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