Oct 17, 2020
5 takeaways from Woodkid’s new album ‘S16’
It has been a very long wait for fans of the French singer, but Woodkid has finally released his second album. In seven years he has released singles, and work for films like ‘Desierto’ and ‘Divergent’, but nothing can really scratch the itch for more of his music than an album.
These are the five things to take away from ‘S16’.
1. It has been worth the wait
It is fair to say that S16 is brilliant, beautiful and all the other descriptive words you could think of. If this is the work of seven years then he can definitely wait another seven before the next album. With Woodkid it is very much quality over quantity, to use a cliché.
2. ‘Goliath’ and ‘Pale Yellow’ are Woodkid’s best work to date
Though many will know Woodkid for songs like ‘Run Boy Run’, he has easily topped that with ‘Goliath’ and ‘Pale Yellow’ in this album.
The epic nature of ‘Goliath’ is something that simply cannot be achieved by another artist. On top of this, the music video is fantastic and is up for an award for its use of VFX.
‘Pale Yellow’ is a real showcase of Woodkid’s voice and has many of the hallmarks of his songs. It is quite similar in a number of ways to singles ‘Land of All’ and ‘Never Let You Down’. It builds upon elements of these singles and is even better.
3. There has been a change of pace and tone since ‘The Golden Age’
Woodkid’s first album ‘The Golden Age’ was filled with high paced songs like ‘Run Boy Run’ and ‘The Great Escape’ and had a much more upbeat tone to it. This album slows things down quite dramatically, and is much more somber and brooding.
This, in a lot of ways makes the music more impactful and impressive. He is able to create incredible music whether it is slow or fast paced, and songs like ‘Horizons Into Battlegrounds’ and ‘In Your Likeness’ highlight this. Woodkid has created a second album that has many similarities to, but also contrasts his first.
4. His music is as quirky as ever
Woodkid’s music has always had a quirky edge. Though nothing in this album comes close to the weirdness of the backwards violin (that sounded like a duck quacking) in his single ‘Never Let You Down’, there is still that same edge.
The use of a childrens choir in ‘Reactor’ and ‘Minus Sixty One’ is typical Woodkid, and is similar to the use of choirs in several songs in his first album. Then the use of unusual and slightly discordant sounds scattered across the album put his trademark firmly on S16. This quirkiness is part of the reason Woodkid fans love his music, and it sets him apart from a lot of other musicians.
5. ‘Shift’ will take a bit of getting used to
Though quirkiness is throughout his music, I’m finding it difficult to listen to one song on the album, ‘Shift’. The piano across the song is beautiful, but something doesn’t quite sit right with me.
The way Woodkid uses his voice in the song is out of the ordinary for him, and that’s probably why it feels a little jarring to hear it. It is good to see him experiment however, and given a few listens, I’m sure it’ll grow on me.
What do you think of the new album? Comment below if you think anything was missed.
