Album Review: Joshua Bassett - 'The Golden Years'
Deeply personal, raw but with a real sense of hope, Joshua Bassett’s debut album hits all the right notes.
Joshua Bassett’s highly anticipated debut album has finally been released and it is a nostalgic journey through the highs and lows of adolescence and growing up. Over the course of 11 songs, he takes listeners through his experiences as a young man who’s life was thrust under the microscope of fame and goes through his struggles juggling a private and public life. The album for Bassett has been a form of therapy, helping him to process everything he's gone through since first being catapulted to stardom.
‘I’ve been through some of the best and worst years of my life… Music is one of the only ways I can really process my emotions. I wrote a lot of songs in five minutes or less — I’m not saying that to brag, I just got to this place where I could just kind of vomit it out’
Vomit it out he certainly does because every single track on this record is overflowing with heart. It also gives Bassett the opportunity to really cut his teeth as an artist; trying out different genres and experimenting with an eclectic mix of styles. Nearly four years in the making, the amount of work that has gone into the crafting of this album is undeniable and from start to finish, it is a message of resilience, hope and excitement for what is looking like a bright future.
The opening track, ‘Biting My Tongue’ is a brilliant starting point. The title itself is clever and thought provoking; having been forced to stay silent on his experiences and struggles, Bassett here is reclaiming his voice. Much like the idea of biting one’s tongue, the instrumentation of the track is reserved, indicating that Bassett is holding his cards close to his chest. His tone though is full of character as he pleads with the listener insisting that he isn’t here to cause a fight, and only wants to speak his truth.
“I don’t want revenge. I won’t hurt you how you hurt me, I want this to end.’
It’s intriguing to kick things off with this track in terms of the way it sets up the tone and intentions for the rest of the album. Fans of Bassett and newcomers to his music alike will remember the unfortunate drama he found himself at the centre of in 2021 following releases from ex flames that seemingly were about him. Music fans and the mainstream media ran wild with the story, diving deep into his personal life looking to unearth and exploit actions by someone who at the time was a young man right at the beginning of adulthood and his career. The drama has since passed however the release of this album has created a resurgence of interest in the past with many questioning whether or not this will be his comeback to throw his two cents in. All-too-aware of this expectation from listeners, Bassett instead affirms that the past is most definitely in the past. By getting this message out of the way right at the beginning of the album, he takes back the power and is able to start things anew.
The Title track, ‘The Golden Years’, is a nostalgia trip into what it feels like to be young and in love. Bassett revels in the warm memories of past relationships, wishing only he understood at the time how special they would be. He explained that with this track, he isn’t so much looking back on the past with a sense of regret and longing to return to what he had, instead promising himself to appreciate the connections he makes going forward.
“It’s not that I necessarily want to go back, but I wish I could’ve appreciated the time that I had while I had it…You think things are tough, but then you look at a photo from the past and you’re like, ‘Oh, things were not actually that bad, I don’t know why it felt like the world was on fire’.”
Its so refreshing to see insight from Bassett himself on his past relationships and reassuring to hear that despite the problems and difficulties they brought about, he looks back on them with fondness. He brilliantly captures a sense of sweetness through poppy instrumentation, a welcome break from the melancholy piano and guitar which makes up a lot of the other tracks. The tone of this track is really a reflection of that for the rest of the album; it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, but we endured it all.
Perhaps one of the more introspective songs on the album, ‘Mirror’ sees Bassett reevaluate and examine his journey. So much of the record is an analysis of who the ‘real’ Joshua Bassett is, exploring the many reflections and perceptions of the young artist and no track leans into this questioning more. The penultimate track, here Bassett is as much looking back on the rest of the album as he is his own life. Lamenting on coming into the industry at such a young age and the sense of isolation and loneliness he felt trying to navigate fame alongside the already difficult and emotional task of becoming a man, Bassett questions where things went wrong and seeks to understand how he has ended up where he is now.
‘I don’t recognise the face in the mirror, the mirror. There’s nowhere to hide from the face in the mirror, in the mirror. The light in my eyes, I can’t seem to find. And I don’t recognise the face in the mirror–the face in the mirror isn’t mine.’
Bassett in recent years has felt empowered to talk more and more about his struggles with mental health and this track is a real insight into the pressures and dissociation he has felt while trying to create an identity as an artist. Getting his start on the Disney channel, so much of what was known about Bassett from the get-go was based on a character. The pretending and make-believe continued even when the cameras were off as he faced public scrutiny from the media and found himself being branded into a caricature; yet another child star to be in the middle of celebrity drama. For so long, the ‘real’ Joshua Bassett has been a mystery; instead he has been known for the people he has dated, the alleged spats he has been embroiled in, and a part he was playing. This track sees Bassett aware of all these different characters and masks he has been forced to put on, but he is determined now to let people see who he really is.
It’s perfect then that everything comes to a close with ‘Look How Far You’ve Come’. Its crazy to consider that this track, along with the first, were written four years ago because of how much the messaging and intentions they hold ring true for the world we live in now. A culmination of the last five years-the good and the bad, the beautiful and the frightening-this track demonstrates Bassett’s resilience through everything he has been through. The message is simple but powerful: you got through it before and you will get through it again. Above all else, it is Bassett’s love letter to himself and the affirmation that he is enough.
In the same way that this release allows us to witness the ‘real’ Joshua Bassett, flaws and all, this album is a way in which we can all feel seen. Though he is a personality in the public eye, the themes and discussion points in this album are universal and will resonate with everyone who has questioned themselves while navigating the highs and lows of growing up. The Bassett that emerges from the album is a young man who knows who he is, the sound he seeks to create, and the message he wants to put out in the world. It is clear to any listener that the pressures and difficulties he has endured have produced a true diamond and it makes for a very exciting look towards what is to come next. His worldwide tour kicks off this week with UK and Europe dates as soon as September and it is for sure a gig not to be missed.
Words by Kirsty-Ann Thomson
