Golden Child: Re-boot 1st Album (Deluxe Version) Review

Golden Child has come back with their first full album, Re-boot, on November 18th, 2019! There is a normal version and a deluxe version. I gave a brief intro to this era and blogged about ordering my Re-boot albums here and unboxed the normal version here. I'll be unboxing the deluxe version and will include a breakdown of the tracklist in this post.

The deluxe version is packaged in a sturdy matte box, with a simple front cover; the center design and text in silver and an enlargement of the new Golden Child logo in a gloss overlay. The spine has the new logo and "THE 1ST ALBUM" in matching silver text.

The spine is absolutely gorgeous, especially in the dark. I love how Woollim's been adding this reflective text to their spines as they really stand out, even in the dark.

The other spine as the album title "RE-boot" in the same silver text. The packaging is about 9" by 12.125" by 1.375".

The back cover has part of the new logo bleeding over in the gloss overlay; the back cover also contains the tracklist of this full length album in silver. I'll discuss the tracklist more further down. Beginning with Lovelyz Kei's solo album, Woollim's albums now have a white KOMCA sticker instead of the holographic authentication sticker.

The flap on the right is held in place with two magnets; opening this flap reveals the photobook at the very top.

From top to bottom (here shown left to right) is the photobook, calendar, and special photo. The photobook, calendar, and special photo are all almost as big as the album packaging. The bottom of the box contains the photocard set which has a secure cutout, along with the postcard set which is placed just above the CD.

The cover design of the deluxe photobook is similar to that of the normal version, except the deluxe is in a shiny red lettering. The cover is made of what feels like construction paper.

Here is the back cover.

There are 100 pages. This page is the same as in the normal version.

The photobook begins with a group photo from the Cafe Valor photoshoot. Majority of the photos here are individual shots from this shoot, the all-black shoot, and the black-and-red shoot.

While in the normal version photobook the individual member photos seemed randomized, the deluxe version photoshoot is organized by placing photos together from the same shoot. The first set of photos is from the Cafe Valor shoot.

Most pages contain one photo, and generally the page is formatted well to show off the photo.

The next set of photos is from the black-and-red shoot. These two pages are an exception to the nice formatting...the photos here are just so small and don't need to be in landscape mode.

This formatting however, I absolutely love it. A zoomed out view of Tag shows off his charisma while that closeup of Jibeom with his shadow is spot-on.

Next is another set of photos from the all-black shoot. I really like the angles used here.

Following is another set of photos from the Cafe Valor shoot. Donghyun is seriously killing it this comeback!

In Golden Child's album unboxing video from The Show, I can't believe Jibeom chose these as his favorite photos from this photobook! Jaehyun's photo...is a bit...provocative...

Next are the last set of photos from the black-and-red shoot.

I personally don't like these types of shoots; I prefer those with a more natural setting like the other two shoots. However I'm really in love with all of Jibeom's photos from this shoot; his side profile is so beautiful.

There is one more set of photos from the all-black shoot.

There are several pages that contain two photos per page.

And finishing off the bulk of the photobook is one more set of photos from the Cafe Valor shoot. I've always loved reflections and mirrors in photoshoot, and Seungmin's photo here is no exception!

Also each track has its own page within the photobook, complete with lyrics and song credits.

A group photo from the all-black shoot concludes the photos, and is followed by three pages for the thanks to messages.

The last page contains the album credits.

The calendar comes bundled up in a translucent paper sleeve.

There are 12 loose leaf pages, one for each month. Each photo is from the Cafe Valor shoot, except for December which is a group photo from the all-black shoot. The dates are lined up in one row at the bottom, with holidays outlined in red and special Golden Child dates in orange.

Also I have to bring this up. I love Jaehyun with all my heart, but how can I display this calendar come February?! Why are his photos from this era so explicit?!

The backside of each page has the new Golden Child logo and album logo.

And here's Joochan! The deluxe version includes one random special photo out of 10, all from the black-and-red photoshoot. The special photos from the deluxe version are all different than those from the normal version. I'm very particular about hairstyles; I like natural hair color and not styled up, however Joochan really pulls off this shade of pink and styled up really well! I'm happy to have pulled him.

The backside has the member's printed sign and message. The back is matte while the front is glossy. The general differences between the special photos from the deluxe and normal are that for the deluxe, the images are more close-ups and the backsides are black instead of white.

The postcard set and photocard set come with matte red paper sleeves, with the new Golden Child logo in a gloss black overlay. All deluxe copies come with these postcards and photocards; there are no random pulls from these inclusions.

There are 21 postcards, starting with a group photo from the Cafe Valor shoot, followed by one photo per member from Daeyeol to Bomin from the same shoot, then one more round of individual member photos from the all-black shoot.

There are three versions of the backside, but generally this side has the album title and new logo printed. These postcards all have a matte finish and are about 5.875" by 4.25".

There are 20 photocards; two per member and in order from Daeyeol to Bomin.

The photocards are all matte and has the same dimensions and corner roundness as the photocards from the normal version, as well as from Goldenness and Wish.

The backside has the member's printed autograph and message. This era marks Bomin's new autograph design...

The CD is held in place by a foam wedge, inside a cutout at the bottom of the box.

This full length album contains 12 tracks. I'd like to credit the K-Goldenness on Twitter @SY_Love_U who identified past works by these composers.

1. Re-boot - this intro, along with title "WANNABE", is composed by Woollim's in-house composer BLSSD! BLSSD worked on various Woollim artists' past songs, but key songs that match this concept include Infinite's "Back", "Bad", "The Eye", and "Tell Me".
2. WANNABE - this title definitely steps away from Golden Child's previously youthful and energetic concept, and goes towards Infinite's darker, mature concepts like in the title tracks I mentioned. The song has such a different style; it reminds me of when Infinite first released "Back", where that song was just a completely different sound from their entire discography, but like "Back", I soon fell in love with "WANNABE" as well. Also the lyrics and music video are pretty deep, explaining how there are 10 personalities who are each other's "wannabe" and want to be the other. Lastly, I really like Joochan's voice here; it definitely sounds different but fits well with the song.
3. 느껴져 (Lately) - I really like this b-side! It has a late 2000s Kdrama OST feel to it. There's probably a good reason why I love this song; it's created by 1Take and TAK, the ones who created Golden Child's best b-side "What Happened" as well as bop "If"!
4. 나침반 (Compass) - this is the b-side that Golden Child has been promoting. The choreography is really pretty; there's one formation that really is like a compass!
5. No Matter What (Jang Jun & TAG) feat. Joo Chan - first off I'm so proud of Jangjun and Tag working on the lyrics for all tracks they've participated in this album except for "Don't Run Away". Second, this is co-created by 1Take and TAK, showing their breadth of genres. This is the rapper line's duet, and I like the pairing with Joochan as their voices really balance well.
6. 문제아 (A Song For Me) (Joo Chan Solo) - Joochan's solo was previously released as a digital track on February 27th of this year; unfortunately he got the short end of the stick by not having a new song on this album, but it is nice that he's featured in the rapper line's track. This song is a remake; it is a slow ballad that suits Joochan's song so beautifully.
7. 그러다 봄 (Spring Again) - Golden Child released this as a digital single on May 2nd, and I have to say it's my most favorite song by them (and in Kpop in general) to date! Not only do I love just how much Jaehyun gets in this song (though this is a huge factor), I just love the overall aesthetic and really wish to see this performed live one day. J. Yoon is the mastermind behind the lyrics and composition of this song, and has previously created Golden Child's intro tracks "Gol-Cha!" and "Wish" along with the arrangement for "You", along co-creating many Infinite B-side tracks.
8. She's My Girl - there's usually one track that seems a bit more rock(?), and this one is that for me. It is created by the same team who created Infinite's ballad "Still I Miss You".
9. 둘만의 천국 (Our Heaven) (Dae Yeol & Seung Min & Dong Hyun) - this is a surprising subunit but nonetheless they came together to create a beautiful song that showcases all of their voices! The creators of this song also worked on Lovelyz' ballad "Shooting Star".
10. Fantasia (Y Solo) - I just love this song so much; it has such Infinite F vibes and Y's voice fits so beautifully. This is co-created by CODE 9, who also composed and arranged Woohyun's "Hold On Me".
11. 도망가지마 (Don't Run Away) - another great B-side, with lyrics written solely by SEION who co-created "Thank You" and "Genie".
12. 놓지 않기로 해 (Go Together) (Jae Hyun & Ji Beom & Bo Min) - I have so many feels for this song, which I go off in the next paragraph. Along with Joochan's solo, this is the other ballad on the album. I would have never imagined a subunit with these three (my top three!), and for them to have a ballad where they can really show their vocal chops really makes this year(+) long wait so worth it. This song is also co-created by CODE 9. They've created my two favorite songs from this album; I'll keep an eye out for them in the future!

For "Spring Again", it says Golden Child worked on the chorus!

And for "She's My Girl:, it says Hong Joochan of Golden Child worked on the chorus!

After waiting over a year for another (physical) album, I'm beyond ecstatic that it is Golden Child's first full album, complete with solo and subunit tracks to let each member shine. I'm getting so emotional just thinking about it - Jaehyun and Bomin who sometimes have no lines, get to share their voices in a ballad. And on top of that Jibeom's in this subunit, it's literally all my three biases in one song showcasing their talents. Also "Fantasia" is such a beautiful and fun pop song that fits Y's voice so perfectly. My other top song from this album is "Spring Again" which is has really saved majority of 2019 for me, partly because it's just my aesthetic, and partly because Jaehyun is finally getting the lines he deserves; I'm so happy that Golden Child finally performed it live at their Re-boot showcase and hope they'll continue performing this beauty live! And of course an honorable mention goes to "Wannabe". I was worried that by working with Rphabet who created many Infinite title tracks and to me really defined Infinite's sound during their later years, Golden Child would be replicating Infinite's style, but this comeback has shown me that they can make this concept their own and only proves that Golden Child can take on such a different concept with full force.

This era also has two posters, which I blogged about in the normal version.

Overall, I love Golden Child and anything they produce, I will love no matter what! But regardless of my love for Golden Child, the Wannabe era is perfect and shows Golden Child's growth and maturity, and the music itself is holistic and shows the members' vocal growth and abilities, and the physical albums are high quality and contain a lot of items. And lastly, the promotions this comeback have been the best Woollim has ever done, with the release of so much content that almost makes up for the long wait!