Brothertiger: Golden Years

By Shayna D’Arezzo

John Jagos, or as he calls himself, Brothertiger, has released his first full album titled Golden Years, which is one filled with pop-synth electro beats that will take your mind to another place. It’s a fun album to listen and dance to, and there’s no doubt that if you like chill-out music that you can drift away with, you will thoroughly enjoy Golden Years.

The first single we are introduced to is “The Young Ones,” which is one of my favorite songs off this album. The “ooh” and “ahh” in the background of the electronic beats sets the tone for the album. It gives off a happy, cheerful, yearning feeling as you find yourself thinking of innocent, summer days cruising around. The next track, “I’ve Been Waiting,” almost has a disco-like feel to it with a hint of surf rock. It is a track that I found myself dancing to. It reminded me a lot of the song “New Beat” by Toro Y Moi. “Wind At My Back,” the next track, is a little more intense than the first two. It has more of a relaxing, intimate passion to it that creates a visual. It contains more than just a happy-go-lucky feel.

Some tracks have more of an 80’s feel to them, but are still able to fit into the electronic, new wave, surf rock genre. “Reach It All” almost sounds a little like OMD when it first begins, and continues to have hints of ’80’s synthpop dance music to it. “Golden Years” is one of the most interesting tracks on the album. It features a great combination of the use of synthesizers and electronic instrumentation, Jago’s dreamy voice in the background, and 80’s dance pop. It’s certainly worth the privilege of title track with it’s optimistic, warming vibe that you’ll feel deep inside. “Lovers” is just a straight-up fun song to listen to, and frankly it makes me want to go roller skating around a rink with disco lights beaming everywhere. “Out of Line” is another awesome song that anyone could get into if they are trying to get down and dance. It has a fun beat to it and is a little more experimental than the other nine tracks. The closing track, “Turquoise Skyline,” is a fitting track to end with. It almost has a feeling of accomplishment in it, and probably has the most steady beat to it than any of the other songs. A very dreamy, fun send off.

Golden Years is a gripping album that will have you captivated if you are into the new wave, synthpop, electronic genre of music that has continued to gain popularity in the past decade. As a whole, the album does seem to have a repetitive feel within it, so I wish Jagos would have experimented just a little bit to more to distinguish a difference within his songs. Don’t get me wrong — Brothertiger has created an all-around, feel-good album. However, I kind of felt like I was stuck back in the late 80’s/early 90’s — and I could only stand it for so long. I’ll be on the lookout for Brothertiger in the future, anxiously anticipating his next move.

Rating: 7.2/10

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