Dream Your Life Away

Dream Your Life Away
Studio album by Vance Joy
Released 5 September 2014
Recorded 2013
Genre
Label Liberation Music
Producer
Singles from Dream Your Life Away
  1. "From Afar"
    Released: 21 January 2013
  2. "Riptide"
    Released: 21 May 2013
  3. "Mess Is Mine"
    Released: 9 July 2014
  4. "First Time"
    Released: 4 August 2014
  5. "Wasted Time"
    Released: August 2014
  6. "Georgia"
    Released: February 2015

Dream Your Life Away is the debut studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy. It was released in Australia on 5 September 2014 via Liberation Music. The album was released on 9 September 2014 in the US via Atlantic Records and worldwide via Warner Music. The album has peaked to number 1 on the Australian Albums Chart. The album includes the singles "From Afar", "Riptide", "Mess Is Mine", "First Time", "Wasted Time" and "Georgia".

Background

During a performance in Boston, Vance Joy explained that the song "My Kind of Man" included advice his uncle once gave him when he was young.[1] But he later learned from his father that the quoted advice was actually from a Lynyrd Skynyrd song. Vance Joy noted that though the lyrics changed, the message stayed the same: "Find something you love and understand.”[1]

Singles

"From Afar" was released as the lead single from the album on 21 January 2013. "Riptide" was released as the second single from the album on 21 May 2013, the song has peaked to number 6 on the Australian Singles Chart and number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, the song has also charted in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland and United States. "Mess Is Mine" was released as the third single from the album on 9 July 2014, the song has peaked to number 33 on the Australian Singles Chart. "First Time" was released as the fourth single from the album on 4 August 2014, the song has charted in Belgium. "Wasted Time" was released as the fifth single from the album in August 2014, the song has peaked to number 43 on the Australian Singles Chart. "Georgia" was announced in February 2015 as the sixth single. It has currently peaked at number 28 on the Australian Singles Chart.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
Clash 6/10[3]
Rolling Stone Australia [4]
musicOMH [5]
PopMatters 7/10[6]

Timothy Monger from AllMusic noted that the album is "built around the centerpiece of "Riptide" and that it "offers up a dozen or so additional songs in that familiar mold of romantic, introspective, acoustic folk-pop". He felt that the album "focuses on gently picked lovelorn pleas and somewhat uninspired romantic phrasing" and commented that it "seems a bit too middle of the road to really distinguish him from the crowded pack of similar young bards."[2] Clash writer Jack Scourfield praised the album's "heartfelt honesty" that can "spread the youthful nostalgia adeptly across any generational gaps." He also noted that the album "does become prone to dragging during some of its less well-defined, slower numbers."[3] Jaymz Clements for Rolling Stone Australia gave Dream Your Life Away a positive review, stating that the album effectively "[shows] there's more to Vance Joy than "Riptide"", noting that the album is "confident, self-assured and classically Australian, with an appeal that's universal."[4]

Chart performance

On 13 September 2014 the album entered the Australian Albums Chart at number one. It is the eleventh album to reach number one for an Australian act in 2014 and the first time ever that the Liberation label have landed back-to-back number ones after Jimmy Barnes's album 30:30 Hindsight reached number one last week.[7]

Track listing

All tracks were written by Vance Joy.

Standard listing
No. TitleProducer(s) Length
1. "Winds of Change"  Ryan Hadlock 2:15
2. "Mess Is Mine"  Hadlock 3:43
3. "Wasted Time"  Hadlock 5:00
4. "Riptide"  
 3:21
5. "Who Am I"  Hadlock 2:39
6. "From Afar"  
  • Keogh
  • White
  • Castle
 4:23
7. "We All Die Trying to Get It Right"  Hadlock 4:07
8. "Georgia"  Hadlock 3:50
9. "Red Eye"  Hadlock 5:03
10. "First Time"  Hadlock 3:44
11. "All I Ever Wanted"  Hadlock 3:36
12. "Best That I Can"  
  • Keogh
  • White
 3:30
13. "My Kind of Man"  Hadlock 3:49

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[9] 94
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[10] 166
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[11] 2
Irish Albums (IRMA)[12] 26
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 40
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14] 23
Scottish Albums (OCC)[15] 22
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 13
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 23
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 20
US Billboard 200[19] 17
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[20] 2
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[21] 2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[22] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
Australian Albums Chart[23] 44
US Alternative Albums[24] 45
US Folk Albums[25] 15
US Rock Albums[26] 74

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[27] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[28] Gold 40,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Release date Format Label
Australia[29] 5 September 2014
Liberation
New Zealand[30]
Worldwide[31][32] 9 September 2014

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hutchings, Beth. "Pure Australian Charm: Vance Joy". Sound of Boston. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Monger, Timothy. "Dream Your Life Away – Vance Joy". Allmusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Scourfield, Jack (29 September 2014). "Vance Joy – Dream Your Life Away". Clash. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Clements, Jaymz (2 September 2014). "Vance Joy – Dream Your Life Away". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Baber, Andy (19 September 2015). "Vance Joy – Dream Your Life Away". musicOMH. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  6. ↑ Allister, Mark (29 January 2015). "Vance Joy: Dream Your Life Away". PopMatters. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  7. ↑ Vance Joy Dream My Life Away Debuts At 1 On ARIA Albums Noise11.com music news Music News | New Music | Noise11.com
  8. ↑ "Vance Joy – Dream Your Life Away". Australiancharts.com. Hung Medien.
  9. ↑ "Vance Joy – {{{album}}}" (in Dutch). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "Vance Joy – {{{album}}}" (in French). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  11. ↑ "Vance Joy Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Vance Joy. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  12. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week {{{week}}}, {{{year}}}". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  13. ↑ "Vance Joy – Dream Your Life Away". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien.
  14. ↑ "Vance Joy – Dream Your Life Away". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien.
  15. ↑ "{{{date}}} Top 40 Scottish Albums Archive". Official Charts Company.
  16. ↑ "Vance Joy – Dream Your Life Away". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien.
  17. ↑ "Vance Joy – Dream Your Life Away". Swisscharts.com. Hung Medien.
  18. ↑ "Vance Joy | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart
  19. ↑ "Vance Joy Album & Song Chart History" Billboard 200 for Vance Joy. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  20. ↑ "Vance Joy Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Folk Albums for Vance Joy. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  21. ↑ "Vance Joy Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Vance Joy. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  22. ↑ "Vance Joy Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Vance Joy. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  23. ↑ "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 100 Albums 2014". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  24. ↑ "Alternative Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2015. (subscription required)
  25. ↑ "2014 Year End Charts - Top Billboard Folk Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  26. ↑ "2014 Year End Charts - Top Billboard Rock Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  27. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (20 December 2014). "ARIA ALBUMS: Taylor Swift Returns To No 1". Noise11. Noise Network. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  28. ↑ Canada, Music (23 January 2015). "Gold/Platinum: Music Canada". Music Canada. MC. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  29. ↑ "Dream Your Life Away by Vance Joy". iTunes Store (AU). Apple Inc. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  30. ↑ "Dream Your Life Away by Vance Joy". iTunes Store (NZ). Apple Inc. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  31. ↑ "Dream Your Life Away by Vance Joy". iTunes Store (US). Apple, Inc. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  32. ↑ "Dream Your Life Away by Vance Joy". iTunes Store (CA). Apple Inc. Retrieved 29 December 2014.