On February 23rd Vance Joy dropped his long-awaited album “Nation of Two”. The album tells the story of two lovers and the relationship that happened between them.
The album cover is a simple doodle that Joy drew. It shows the outline of a couple laying down, it is very simply drawn. Joy says the title of the album Nation of Two, “reminds him of how your world begins and ends whenever you’re with that one person.”
The theme of the album is love and relationships. “Lay it on me” was the first single released from the album. The song is a sort of slow song, that gradually picks up speed and heart. The song talks about “defenses coming down”, which talks about the walls that everyone has up in a relationship. Joy says the song just came to him, when he had written the majority of the music for it in 2012 but finally finishing it up.
The album contains a lot of upbeat songs, like “Saturday Sun”, which is a happy song about meeting someone. My boyfriend was going on about an hour drive, and I told him to listen to this album, and he said that it was the perfect album to drive to as the sun was coming up. He loved the album so much that he listened to it on the way home. From sun up to sun down Vance Joy made the ride more enjoyable for him. “We’re Going Home” is an uplifting song that Joy says he wrote about being far away from home while on tour. Towards the end of the album, it takes a shift, there are songs like “Little boy” which is not about a relationship but Joy falling off his bike as a child. This song is Joy’s reflection on his childhood. “Bonnie and Clyde” is the famous story of Bonnie and Clyde.
To close off the album “Where We Start” brings the theme of the album back, re-mentioning that theme of the “Nation of two” that Joy really wanted to emphasize. I highly recommend giving this album a listen, regardless if you are in a relationship, the album will make you happy.