What would happen if you let three swedes blend drone, shoegaze, post-rock, folk, psychedelic rock and jazz into one big heap of music that was heavily influenced by bands like Mogwai? Well here is your answer. Mostly recorded live in the Isolation Studio in Stockholm, Valley has created what can best be described as a slow and groovy collection of instrumental tracks. This debut album has been released by Version Studio Records who previously released albums by bands like A Swarm Of The Sun, Aoria, Come Sleep and The Isolation Process. All these bands are connected by friendship with each other and now we can include Valley. There is a power in a union and this union is very strong. All the bands have that wonderful melancholy feel that perhaps is a result of long dark Swedish winters and the long bright summer nights. Valley fits right in to the roster. From the first track “Tunguska” that has a repetitive guitar figure which is like a mellow riff that makes you kick back and relax. Then the second track “Kiro” takes over the soundscape with a slightly different feel. There is a grooviness here but it is a gentle groove that takes you away on a nice journey into the sonic clouds. The journey in the clouds goes on and takes us even further out in space. The guitar melodies throughout the whole album are reminiscent of each other but are clearly four different entities. The overall feel is that this album is a musical journey in its own universe in four parts and gives it an almost jazzy feel. The intro of the last song “Picture Puzzle Pattern Door” takes us out into the wilderness on a peaceful evening with the sound of crickets. Again a careful soft riff but this time some tribal percussion is the backbone of the music. It's almost hypnotizing.
When I listened to this album the first time I accidentally put it on repeat but I did not notice that until a couple of hours later when I started to wonder how they were going to fit all this fantastic music onto one CD or vinyl. By then I had listened to “Sunburst” about three or four times in a row and didn't react. That says something about the quality of this music. There are lots of small details on “Sunburst” that reveals itself piece by piece to the listener as you repeat the album. I love records like that and so should you.
The Void
Links:
https://versionstudio.bandcamp.com/album/sunburst
https://www.facebook.com/thebandvalley
