Vance Joy takes some new sounds along for the ride on his latest album, In Our Own Sweet Time.

The record, the Australian singer-songwriter’s third studio effort, features collaborations with a number of different songwriters and producers, resulting in some sonic flourishes you might not expect from the “Riptide” artist.

“It’s nice seeing the different ways that, when I write a song by myself and when I work with other people, what happens,” Vance tells ABC Audio. “I feel like it ends up making the album a bit more colorful, in general.”

Among the more surprising colors of the In Our Own Sweet Time palette is the song “Wavelength,” which Vance describes as a “real detour.”

“Maybe for people who listen to my music, maybe they’ll be, like, ‘Oh, that’s a bit whack,'” Vance muses. “Or maybe they’ll be, like, ‘I love that! I love that there’s a bit of a risk happening on track eight.'”

With all those different sounds flying about, what ties In Our Own Sweet Time together is its repeated lyrical imagery and themes. The image of light bookends the record with opener “Don’t Fade” and closer “Daylight,” while songs including “Missing Piece” and “Clarity” maintain a feeling of longing.

“I’ve always liked … that longing idea,” Vance says. “I think that hits some kind of emotional power.”

Vance also feels it’s important that the lyrics stay true to who he is, regardless of what the song sounds like.

“Maybe it’s a really poppy-sounding song, or maybe it’s just one of my more quiet acoustic songs,” he says. “If you’re singing something that doesn’t feel like it’s your voice, then that song probably won’t make it on the album.”

In Our Own Sweet Time is out now.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.