‘Golden Hour’: The Year in One Record

There's a moment two-thirds of the way through Golden Hour — the key change in 'Curtain Call' — where you can feel an entire album click into place. It's the sound of an artist who knows exactly what she's doing.

A concept that earns its name

Concept albums usually collapse under their own ambition. Golden Hour doesn't, because Aurelia Vance keeps the concept in the lighting rather than the lyrics. Nothing here announces itself as Part of a Bigger Statement. The songs just happen to all take place in that hour when everything looks like it's ending and beginning at once.

Most pop this big is a wall of sound. This one breathes.

The Ratist verdict

On our five-category scale, it posts a rare 9.1 — anchored by near-perfect marks in Songwriting and Production, with only Replay Value keeping it out of the 9.5 club (a couple of the ballads sag on repeat listens). But that's a quibble about a genuinely great record.

If you rate one album this month, rate this one.