You may already know Vance Joy from his energetic, vibrant single “Riptide,” where he sings incredibly quirky lyrics with such enthusiasm and gusto. While I love that song so much, I believe that Vance Joy is also quite the master at heartfelt, depressing songs, like this one, titled “From Afar.” From the title you already know it’s destined to be a tear-jerker if you listen to it when you’re in the corresponding mood. It’s the age old story about how you’re in love with someone and unfortunately it’s one of three scenarios: they don’t love you back, they don’t care, or they’re too involved with something else to notice. All three are heartbreaking, and somehow Vance Joy captures all the feelings of rejection in his gorgeous, mellifluous voice. It cracks and strains in the most breathtaking ways and I am blown away each time I listen to him. The fact that the music underneath starts out simple then gets explosive (it even has some of the riffs from “Riptide” at the very end) is absolutely perfect, because it matches the feelings of rejection – you’re sad and depressed, then you slowly become desperate and ultimately helpless to your own feelings. I crave with all my heart that I could possess just a tiny amount of his amazing songwriting abilities so that I could write meaningful songs like this one. This song has gotten me through some rough times and it’s the perfect mixture of sad yet uplifting, in a strange sort of way. “From Afar” is from Vance Joy’s debut EP God Loves You When You’re Dancing, which was released in 2013. I can’t wait to see what Vance Joy does next, which is why his song is song of the week.
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kid with a vinyl 