Back in July of 2017, every Indie-pop fan beamed with excitement when one of the biggest names in the genre, Vance Joy, announced that he was in the process of the writing an album that would be released early in 2018. After numerous singles and frequent Instagram updates, James Gabriel Keogh had his entire fanbase on the edge of their seats in anticipation. Finally, as of February 23rd, Vance Joy’s second studio album Nation of Two is out and currently satisfying the seemingly insatiable desire from fans around the world, including myself. Does the album live up to the hype? Let’s find out.

Caution: Prepare for TuneWarp!

With the release of his first studio album Dream Your Life Away, Vance Joy broke onto the scene and took the world by storm in 2014. His song “Riptide”, in particular, made huge waves in the Indie scene as well as mainstream radio. However, devoted fans know that “Riptide” was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of Vance Joy’s talent, with songs like “Red Eye”, “Georgia”, and “Mess is Mine” resonating with millions of listeners. When I heard Dream Your Life Away and saw the man himself in concert at Stage AE, I knew Vance Joy was a jet plane ready to take off and soar. So how is he doing now with the release of his second studio album?

The approachable music style yet personal and developed lyrics that Vance Joy is known for is definitely still present and very strong on this album. In an Instagram post, he stated that “Nation of Two describes a perfectly self-contained universe. A relationship that helps give you your bearings.” The lyrical writing on this album dives deep into this relationship, and each song is beautifully crafted to connect emotions to events that deeply affected Vance Joy’s outlook on love, commitment, and even life itself. Although we listeners can never fully understand the true meaning behind every song on the album, they are easy to understand and draw the raw emotion from them. Vance Joy does not write extended metaphor style music, but his story-telling style combined with his emotional performance is what really hits fans right in the heart.

Speaking of performance, let’s talk instrumentals and vocals on this album. The master of falsetto returns on Nation of Two and wow, it still sends chills down my spine when I hear it. Right from the get-go, Vance Joy utilizes this incredible ability on “Call If You Need Me” and I couldn’t help but exclaim, “Whoo! That’s awesome.” One difference to note in style from Dream Your Life Away to Nation of Two is the use the use of layered vocals and harmonies. The second studio album uses more layering than the last album, particularly seen on “Saturday Sun”, “Like Gold”, and “Lay It On Me”. This is in no way a bad thing. Vance Joy seems to be spreading out musically, and with such a talented band which is both vocally strong and instrumentally diverse, he would be foolish not to utilize those tools. There is also significantly more finger picking on the album as a whole than just strumming from our lead singer, which acts as a perfect conduit for the personal album he was trying to achieve. I also enjoyed the use of reverb on some of the songs, which other classic Indie artists like Fleet Foxes and the big man himself, Hozier, implement quite frequently. It definitely emphasizes the emotions that bleed through the performances and gives the same chilling effect as that beautiful head-voice Vance Joy has which never fails to impress me.

Overall, I was incredibly impressed and very happy with Vance Joy’s second LP. Dream Your Life Away was a huge success that shook the music scene and made the other supernova songwriters quake in their boots. Now with Nation of Two downloaded and streaming on millions of devices worldwide, I think its safe to say Vance Joy’s seat on the songwriter throne of Indie-pop is quite secure. Some people questioned whether or not the rookie writer from Australia would have the stamina to write another outstanding album; the answer is a definitive yes. Vance Joy continues to raise the bar higher and higher with every song he writes, and the other songwriters better start taking notes (James Bay, I’m talking to you).

If you haven’t heard this album yet, make it a priority! You will not be disappointed! And Vance Joy, if you are reading this, thank you for writing such a fantastic album and have a great tour; maybe I’ll see you again at Stage AE.