Drawing us in with an astral frequency, a piano ripple, delicate acoustic guitar, electric notions and a sublime strings arrangement, Dante Shivers opens Changes with a cinematic aura and intricacy. The opus expands with a subtle hummed ad-lib before he sings, “I spent the night here watchin’ you, turnin’ boys into beggars musta sent you through the roof, darlin, we pass the headlights on the road, and in your eyes I find a fire that burns alone…”
In essence, the song is about the relatable concept of wanting change but being afraid or unable to act. It poignantly captures the frustration of waiting for life to become different, whilst time keeps moving forward. In a sense, the message feels really zeitgeist and reflects how many of us feel on planet Earth.
Dante encourages us to open our hearts, face reality, and take a chance before we run out of time. There’s a tangible sense of shared hope and catharsis that manifests. His songwriting is poetic, introspective, emotionally raw, and built around vivid imagery, repetition, and a sense of urgency.
The vocal layers are sublime and the electric riffs remind us of early Dire Straits, whilst Dante’s vocal performance and range are absolutely out of this world. The dramatic build into the instrumental segue and guitar solo is epic and gives a stadium-ready energy as the final reprise fills us with awe.
There is no doubt that Changes holds a cinematic allure. We could imagine it landing a sync placement in a film like the Oscar-winning, One Battle After Another, The Way Way Back or Past Lives. On television, we could imagine it working within One Day, or Crew Girl.
We learn that Changes began in London after Dante met a ballerina through a mutual friend. One evening, while walking her home, they talked about life, travel and the dreams they had for themselves. Later, while she slept beside him, Dante lay awake looking out her window at the moon, with her ballet shoes hanging nearby. It is an incredibly visual origin story, and one that feels almost destined to become a song.
He began writing Changes in London and finished it after returning to New York City. Then he put it away. For nearly fifteen years, the song remained unreleased.
Dante eventually returned to the track during a very different chapter of his life. Now travelling the world on a personal journey to rediscover himself and the life he wants to live, he completed the recording in Thailand, thousands of miles from where the story began. The symbolism is hard to miss. A song written by a younger man wondering whether he would ever pursue the life he imagined was ultimately finished while he was doing exactly that.
Needless to say, we are in awe of Changes, and have added the song to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to stream the wider discography of Dante Shivers, including Jezebel, and End of All Summers.