Originally Published on February 17th, 2026

~ Waves, Tides, and Other Aquatically-Appropriate Metaphors ~

Trends come in waves; short bursts of momentary fixation, and they also roll through like tides; more constant, less obvious, and somewhat cyclical. Trends aren’t typically new, they’re generally recycled from earlier generations. With social media tools, we tend to notice the more abrupt “waves” more than we notice the subtle steady gravitational shift of a tide. These waves will have us dancing in front of our smart phones to Opalite, recreating Taylor and Domhnall’s iconic performance, or we will be rushing to the nearest market to buy a random combination of detergents before they sell out because somebody somewhere says it makes their house smell like rainfall.

The tides come in and linger a bit longer, like how folk music might start to push to the forefront of mainstream music through a variety of areas: ten years ago, Brandi Carlile was a surprisingly well kept secret but now she is at every Grammy Awards, she collaborates with a plethora of artists, and everyone knows her name.

Unlike actual waves and tides, we can’t predict the currents of the music industry. It usually begins with a bold statement by an artist. I often reference Radiohead when talking about some of the “tides” of the music industry, because they have the rare privilege of having started two of them.

First, with the release of their album, Kid A, in 2000; in an era of popular music that was being saturated by Limp Bizkit, Creed, Korn, Eminem, and even softer contemporaries like Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, and Jewel, they went a different way. They released the highly experimental, digital, Kid A with no singles and no big boom on the music scene, but audiences slowly discovered the album. Eventually it would earn them their second consecutive album of the year nomination and it would change the direction for rock music for the next 25 years.

Then, 7 years later, the release of their iconic album, In Rainbows, would garner a similar shift in popular music. With the recording industry having to finally face the realities of the impacting influence of the internet, Radiohead became the first major recording artist to independently release an album. Again, with no singles, they announced an album on October 1st of 2007 and released it 10 days later, as a digital release. Additionally, they allowed consumers to “pay what you want,” which was a legal avenue to download music for free. Not only did they show the entire music industry that there was a way to escape the thumb of record labels, they showed the world how to market digital streaming in a way that thwarted the decline of physical media and the threat of pirated music through Napster and other illegal platforms.

~ About the Artist ~

Waves are more easily spotted, and are somewhat predictable. Tides, are more interesting. They will find us and leave us without us ever noticing until we feel water suddenly hitting our feet.

Kyle Gordon, an alt-pop singer/songwriter out of Atlanta, Georgia approaches his music as if he were the gravitational pull that creates a tide.

Gordon, a young recording artist, just released his second single on February 4th, called Dead Oceans.

“Dead Oceans is about realizing the love you have now only exists because of everything that came before it.” ~ Gordon

Gordon says his music “carries the weight of lived experience without losing its sense of warmth. After a few listens, I’m picking up on this as well. For instance, his first song She Chose Me is a song that celebrates a relationship while also revealing his own insecurities and self doubts. In one moment, he is describing two people absolutely in love, then he bounces over to the chorus which highlights the theme “I don’t know why she chose me.” That’s relatable. On the surface, I think a lot of people hold the person they’re in love with on a pedestal. If we look deeper, it’s not so much the perspective that the object of our affection is on this raised platform, but where we see ourselves; usually wallowing in the muddy peasant fields, idolizing the person we don’t think we deserve.

As Gordon stated, it’s a lovely sentiment but also a sad one.

~ About the Song ~

As I stated, Dead Oceans, Gordon’s second single, released on February 4th of this year. It runs just under 4 minutes, features a mixture of organic instruments, programmed percussion, and synths, along with some aquatic samples of waves. The composition playfully has a taste of a Caribbean vibe sprinkled into the fabric of the song. Even the acoustic guitar resonates with a heavy reverb that brushes back and forth like a buoy.

Gordon’s vocals are in the range of a high tenor. He has a light, gentle tone. He also utilized a soft, pure falsetto. Vocally, he provides a strikingly similar performance to a Jason Mraz or maybe an Adam Levine.

The song has an overall playful tone. It’s got a nice, percussive groove. It’s well mixed and balanced. I really like how everything is panned in the mix. It’s got a nice, clean sound.

~ Final Thoughts ~

I should probably explain my tangent about waves and tides now so I don’t seem like a crazy person. There are people in this life who chase trends (waves), there are people who make trends (waves/tides), and there are people who simply don’t give a fuck about them. For the people that make them, it can be argued that some try to make trends and that is fair. Also, some don’t. In a recent interview, the pop singer/songwriter, Halsey, said (in so many words) that if she wanted to, she could write an album full of hit songs, but in order to do so, she would have to compromise her artistic integrity. I take that to mean that she knows what the industry is looking for and she can produce that, but it’s not what stimulates her, artistically.

Kyle Gordon is an interesting pop musician. His influences are iconic artists like Peter Gabriel and David Bowie. I can hear those traditional influences. I also hear contemporary influences in his music. Not “he sounds like,” but sprinkles of musicality that remind me of other artists; namely Hozier and The Flaming Lips. I admit those two are a stretch but I want to emphasize it’s not the song that sounds familiar, it’s something in the songs.

This is a roundabout way of saying Kyle Gordon has a different sound. It’s a pleasantly different sound. It’s an artistic gamble and I believe it’s paid off. I think Gordon represents the tide coming in. A constant progress to a newer direction of musical influence. Don’t take what I’m saying out of context. I’m not saying that he’s a hidden wonder and he should be getting billions of streams right now and the world should stop what they’re doing and flock to Spotify and Apple to obsess over this artist. Gordon is very good, but he’s got to put the time in as all artists do. He’s got two good songs in his catalog. That could just as easily be a fluke as it could be the start of something great. Right now, it’s interesting.

Kyle Gordon is starting something. What that is, is up to him. We won’t know until there’s new music to explore, live shows to observe, and more to digest before we have a solid understanding of what that is. He may wind up like the millions of independent artists who remain underground, unknown, and scraping the looking glass for recognition. He may be an artist that gets his moment, albeit briefly. Or, he could be the tide coming in. He could bring greatness with him; a constant pull of musical charm that suddenly finds an audience immersed in a sound defined by him. It’s up to him to identify who he is and whether not he is willing or able to show the rest of us. For now, we don’t know. He’s got my attention. I’m excited to hear what’s next.

Go press play.