3.21.2013

Vance Joy :: "Riptide"

Vance Joy makes himself easily the most sought-after unsigned neo-folk act on debut single, "Riptide". The narrative is full of warm and dangerous imagery, pleasant lumps in your throat, being pulled out to sea and Michelle Pfeiffer. Bearing homage to Beirut and a major-key version of Bon Iver, Vance Joy offers just enough boldness to "Riptide" to break some of the ubiquitous mainstreaming of things that fit under the big tent of Major Label Folk. The stakes feel just high enough, or perhaps Vance Joy is simply willing to court danger in an increasingly safe genre, the danger of the "dark side," which isn't particularly dark, and the power of singing the right words to the right song in the right moment.



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