Local Review: Daniel Young — Another Golden Hour

Daniel Young
Another Golden Hour
Self-Released
Street: 02.27.2026
Daniel Young = Bob Dylan + Neil Young

We’re reaching the dog days of summer, and I think I speak for everyone when I say it’s easy to look forward to the setting of the afternoon sun. With the heat arrives Daniel Young’s newest release, Another Golden Hour. This newest production runs through 45 minutes of foundational folk tunes — a genre that Young has certainly been endowed with since the beginning of his musical career. With a steady beat and the ring of an acoustic guitar, Young returned to partner with the Rambling Roses in a two-day recording session at Orchard Studios, producing an album that’s as simple and soothing as a sunset on the patio.

Starting with the namesake song, “Another Golden Hour,” listeners are lulled in with the smooth, sustaining strum of an electric guitar before sunny instrumentals begin to lead the way. “Well you’re dancin’ with the devil, I can see the glitter in your eyes / Living fast and wild, learning how to fly.” Young’s lyrics echo a carefree sentiment perfect for a breezy day under the summer sun. Paired with a steady rhythm and the groovy whirr of the guitar, it’s hard not to bob your head along to this opening song.

Following “Holdin’ Up,” we enter “Ran Out of Luck” — a softer tune sharing the simple stories of a love that has since subsided. Following a stretch of storytelling, lyrics such as “Ran out of money, ran out of luck / This hand we’ve been dealt, it wasn’t worth a ton” shed subtle insight to the beginning of a separation. Though Young’s composition remains energetic, the postlude shares, “I raised you up, until you fell down,” indicating the inevitable end to an invaluable connection — concluding the story with an electric lick, leaving listeners buzzing before we’re introduced to “Baby, Baby Blue.”

Next we enter “Call the Shots.” Starting with a slower strum, Young changes direction from easygoing to introspective, vocalizing the importance of independence and finding yourself. This is best shared in lyrics such as “Don’t be afraid to sing your own song / Don’t let anyone try to tell you that you don’t belong.”

Following a peaceful pace throughout the track, Young calls to listeners, asking them to decipher their own path, embracing a timeless message shared by many folk artists. This song specifically reminded me of early-era Bob Dylan, sharing a rugged and free-willed sentiment that rebels against a modern world that aims to control freedom and expression.

Returning to a more jivey, carefree melody, we encounter “Kestrel Queen,” a ballad about a falcon-hearted woman. From dancing on rooftops to soaring through the canyons, Young sings of a girl who is beyond high on life, seemingly ready to take flight as soon as the moment isn’t worth savoring. Best shared through lyrics such as “Sweet as pumpkin pie, she’s got a sassy side / Yeah I swear to god I think she can fly!” paired with “She’s a Kestrel Queen, she wants to dance and sing / Dance on the rooftops, baby spread your wings,” Young endears listeners with a love song that is as innocent as picking honeysuckles from the vine. By the final note, we’re left wondering how the story ends for these two lovebirds before jumping right into the next track, “Fires Shall Be Ceased.”

Lastly, we hear ”Ways to Communicate,” which returns to a series of slow chord-plucking and reflective lyrics. This calls back to the gentle progressive approach Young uses to address deeper, more altruistic sentiments within his songs as seen in “Call The Shots.” Young sings of new perspectives and human vulnerability, effortlessly capturing listeners in solemn self-reflection that continues into the finale, “It Feels Good (To Miss Someone).”

Ultimately, if you’re looking for a bare-bones folk album to hit the road with this summer, Another Golden Hour is packed with sunny, upbeat, twangy tunes and soft, contemplative melodies made to keep you moving until the next simmering sunset. —Juno McKell

Read more music reviews by Juno McKell:
Local Review: Baby Giant — Why Am I
Local Review: Saemore – Lucky Woman

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