Jude York’s independent-pop single, “Those Were The Days,” comes from the warmest hug of the past. Pleading for shelter from the shaggy memories of the past and his well-heeled shoes kicking up dust, York conjures up the signature vocal finesse and evocative storytelling for which he is known, pulling the listener to a place with lingering memories like the wind.
“Those Were The Days” glimmers through polished production, cloaking its listener in a dreamy soundscape as radiant as it is thoughtful. The instrumentation sparkles with an airy elegance while balancing out a wistful, almost melancholic undertone that fits the song’s heartfelt lyrics. The song is warm, impassioned, and profoundly infectious, and it carries the listener on a journey of self-actualization, plumbing a feeling universal of missing what has passed.
The lyrics tap a deep well of memories to resurrect the bittersweet beauty of looking back. The song structures feel flexible and timeless, the emotional heft hanging heavy after the track ends. “Those Were The Days” has some cinematic quality one could envision playing on the soundtrack of a wistful coming-of-age movie, spooling as the protagonist reflects on the years that laid the groundwork for who they would become.
York’s mastery of vivid storytelling, with the immaculate production to match, brings this song a leg up in the indie-pop field. “Those Were The Days” is a feeling, a memory, an experience in one.
