Fire and the Flood

Vance Joy is James Keogh from Melbourne, a former Australian rules footballer who swapped the oval for a ukulele and had a global hit with Riptide. Fire and the Flood came out in July 2015 as the first single from the deluxe edition of his debut album Dream Your Life Away. The song compares a partner to a wave and a flame, two forces that cannot be reasoned with, and the chorus rolls forward on a strummed acoustic and a brass line that lifts without crowding the vocal. It suits couples who want warmth and a little momentum. Benny Blanco and Stargate produced it, and Keogh has said his guitar riff became the line the horns play.