Quite side-note: Although Vance Joy has of course had several more big hits in his native Australia including the fabulous ‘Fire and the Flood’ and ‘Missing Piece’, unfortunately, ‘Riptide’ is his only song to make the UK Top 100.
When I first heard this song, it stuck with me and for a long time I had no clue what it was called and who it was by. I’d hear it in the car on long road trips to holidays, in supermarkets, at parties and would sometimes get the rhythm stuck in my head. I made it my mission to remember as many lyrics as I could so that I could google search for this great song that had lived rent-free in my head for a good few years.
All hope was lost until one day in summer I was lying out on the grass with a book to the left of me, Pimms to the right and a party in full swing in the distant background. *The* song was playing. I could tell from the initial acoustic guitar intro and the familiar sound of a guy singing a stunning song with lyrics I couldn’t understand. A wave of excitement hit me. I immediately sat up and started typing the lyrics into Google to discover that it was ‘Riptide’ by Vance Joy. As soon as I read it, the name was locked in and ever since then I get excited when I hear it.
I couldn’t tell you why I connected with it so much other than just thinking it’s a great song!
It surprises me that Vance Joy is considered a one-hit wonder when his voice and discography is so well-sounding. His music has real depth to it which, if we’re honest, is a common theme for indie artists. Bouncy pop can be great but there’s definitely room in the market for folk and alternative.
Despite being written in 2013, ‘Riptide’ was one of the UK‘s 40 biggest songs of 2023 thanks to TikTok reminding listeners of its healthy earworm abilities. Surely this signifies that Vance Joy is well on his way to gaining the recognition he deserves. An underrated indie artist with charm. Spread the word, peeps.
