Having covered the strangely glum and preposterously dark ‘This is my happy face’ from Tom Tikka earlier this year, I’ve come to appreciate the morose and sinister qualities that his music embodied. It was a far cry from the hopeful and optimistic arena rock I fell into as a way to infuse some positivity in my life in a covid world. The abrasive and grim tone he managed to bring out was loaded with depth beyond measure. In contrast, ‘By 2022’ is a lot more bright than the album it proceeds. It’s a more hopeful record, one where you can hear Tom Tikka come out with some semblance of hopefulness albeit with his own trepidations.
It’s a more pop rock record, with clear indie rock undertones. A starkly different approach to the doom and gloom it precedes, the more poppy elements shine resplendently on this song. It isn’t an outright happy song in theme or content, but in tonality and melody there’s a shimmer to it, a glimmering outpouring of bright emotion. A poignant song about wasted love and broken relationships, filled with production that’s gleaming. The slight hints of electronic, the vocal tuning elements, and the harmonies across the song make it an all around delightful piece of pop rock for a catchy listen.