We haven't yet made it through the first half of the year, but I think I have a contender for my favorite song of 2023. "Tides Turn" has a sound that blends R&B, dream pop and trip-hop. It is another standout track in a collection of soulful tunes from Patrick Fiore. Fiore is the mastermind behind the Noble Oak moniker and wrote, recorded, produced and mixed the track.
"I found my voice, but it sounds different now than ever before," Fiore sings in an affecting falsetto, leaving the listener to imagine a realization of some sort of subtle but important change. The title, "Tides Turn" and the references to the changing tides hint further at some shift in Fiore's life with which he is coming to grips. The song is relatable in its wistfulness at remembering the way things used to be while accepting or even embracing a new reality.
The video for "Tides Turn" features quite a bit of footage of Nicola Cyr-Morton riding a motorcycle at dusk. The viewer gets the sense that the rider is driving away from something as well as toward a fresh start. It's a vision of losses tempered by hope.
RIYL: Chad Valley
Directed by Max Ciné, cinematography by Maxime Cyr-Morton & Robert Fiorella.
Noble Oak's When It Finds You LP comes out 7/7/2023 on Last Gang Records.
