Review: Golden Child - Fanfare
Golden Child's latest single is... bad. Ra Pam Pam is not only underwhelming but forgettable. Thankfully, the album has some killer b-sides, with Spell and Fanfare being the two highlights. I flipped between which of the two to review and finally picked Fanfare after the special clip's release.
Fanfare as an album centers around a brassier sound for Golden Child, playful and refined. Due to this, Fanfare, in many ways, is a central track for the album. Thankfully, it is a deserving center with many classic hooks galore. Lyrically and musical, Fanfare is refined, but fun and drunk in its own glory.
From moment one, the percussive beat is aided by a bratty saxophone sample, which sets the stage for the brassy explosion later on. The beat is fun and brisk, perfect for dance-pop. Even if the 'ooh lah lah' comes out as awkward, the surging production and vocal hooks hitting as thunder hint at an upcoming explosion.
This is perfectly concluded in the chorus, which explodes with that Latin charm Ra Pam Pam utterly failed to capture. It bumps around like a spinning glass, fun, and poppy. While writing the review, my feet just grooved to the beat with a full-fledged dance. Notice how each hook hits like a melodic sledgehammer, yet continues to build off its predecessors. The performance is golden as well.
The second verse has an awkwardly shoehorned rap break, which really does not belong here. It does not slow the song down, but the vocal effects do drown the second verse quite a bit. Tag gets to sing a bit, but unfortunately, the rap effects don't help him a bit. Thankfully, the verse ends with Y giving us a dramatic high note.
After another stunning chorus, Golden Child's vocalists get to play around a bit for the bridge. It all culminates in an epic double high note (a trick, that as many long-time readers should know, I absolutely adore). The high note is bridged into the falling dance break (golden with its brass samples), which bridges into the final chorus. Notice the continuity, the final minute of Fanfare does not end a segment until it has started a new one. This trick absolutely explodes in near-perfection.
Fanfare is not one of Golden Child's best songs of all time, but it is hard to think that this should not have been the promoted single. Fanfare does everything it is supposed to, and then some. At the same time, it does this with fun and grace.
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