When it comes to love, my expertise unfortunately lies in heartache and grief. Timing just never seems to be in my favor when it comes to matters of the heart. I either enter people’s lives too early - when they don’t really know how to nurture a growing love and are a little careless with it. Or I enter way too late – when they’re so jaded by romance that they’ve lost all hope and believe love won’t find them in this lifetime. Thankfully, my taste in music keeps me optimistic for love. And Alex Goupil’s “The First Time” makes even the most skeptical, hopeful and yearning for love.
“The First Time” is a pop-rock song that perfectly encapsulates what falling in love looks and feels like. The single opens with acoustic strings that are heavily reminiscent of late 90’s soft-rock love ballads. It makes me think of the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Name” and Hootie & the Blowfish’s “Hold My Hand”. The first verse embodies our eagerness to know everything about the person we’re falling in love with. From wanting to know “where [their] from” to “all the things that cross [their] mind”. This eagerness even makes us want to “slow down time” just so we can spend more of it with them. This swells to a whimsical chorus where Goupil captivates listeners with his voice and descriptions of the emotions that are experienced when falling in love. It’s exhilarating, especially when Goupil dreamily delivers the line “You make me feel alive for the very first time in a while”. It’s bound to melt any listener’s heart and make them a little giddy, too. The second verse sees to the expansion of the song’s instrumental ensemble, symbolically demonstrating how a love like this rapidly grows. But the third verse is where I think fans might be falling over themselves to become Goupil’s muse. It centers on the notion that when falling in love with someone comes with so much ease, it often feels like a dream. To which Goupil replies “I don’t want to know” if it is a dream – a sentiment lovers and love skeptics alike can get behind. Even if it is a dream, why ruin it by waking up?
After living in London, singer-songwriter Alex Goupil has made his way back home to Ottawa, Canada. The artist’s discography offers listeners a varied blend of emotional sentiments within alternative pop. Ranging from the upbeat twangs of 2019’s “Crazy”, to the matured strings of 2021’s “Letting Go”. But the one constant within Goupil’s music is his inventive writing and its infectious nature. These are catchy songs determined to stay on the mind. If you’ve enjoyed Goupil’s ballad about falling in love as much as I have, show them some virtual love in the form of streams, likes, and follows.
Written by Giavanna Gradaille
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