Sometimes what you need, from music in general and from post rock specifically, is to be a balm: your brain is hurting from overstimulation, your joints are tired from the day and all you want is to sit back, relax, unhinge your mind and let the music wash over you. Valley is the perfect answer for this sort of mood, containing sounds that are not only interesting but also incredibly pleasing and soothing to listen to. By mixing things up, however, they avoid that “yeah, this is nice” niche which post rock too often falls into. Their off-brand structure makes sure you don’t see all the turns coming while still giving you a sense of where you are in the piece. Head on over the jump to see what I mean.
“Tunguska” is a great example for what this album sounds like. Its opening is straightforward and might even bring a smile to your face. But the middle part is where it gets interesting, with the bass and drum patterns shifting the structure of the track. In general, Sunburst just does a great job of not following the cliche and old structure of post rock. You won’t find any building crescendos, nearly no tremolo picking and certainly no ambient, eight minute tracks made of just noise and loosely strung guitars.
Instead, like on this track, the timbre is more 70’s inspired, with overdrive, fleshy tones and an overall sensation of a lazy afternoon, dreaming under the sunset. Long story short, this album is just what you need when you’re looking to slow the pace down a bit, take a break from your worries and lighten the load from off your back. Best part: Sunburst is out today and you can get it here.
Let’s space out together guys. The world will wait.
-EK