As many readers of Total Access Pass may know, we love a very special band called “Valley” We have be covering them since they opened for Lennon Stella last spring, and now they are taking over the hearts and ears of everyone with one brilliant song at a time!
They just surprised fans with dropping the deluxe version of Maybe called Side C. Side C, features three new tracks and two remastered versions of other Maybe songs. These new editions finally conclude the Maybe album!
We want to continue this tradition of track by track Valley reviews FOREVER! Check out our thoughts on each track AND a conversation with the band about the final chapter below!
Credit: Becca Hamel
Credit: Becca Hamel
Headphones- With the same lyrics from “Push For Yellow” this is another Valley fan’s dream! This song paints a picture of someone not being heard and how their headphones looks like its shielding them from the world, but when it’s time for their voice to be heard it’s silenced. I’ll forever be obsessed with Valley’s lyricism and how they can use lyrics from their other tracks to help intertwine the songs on a much deeper level, ex. Hit me with your late call. As a fan you know the lyrics have been used before, and in your head you’re able to put the pieces together and hear the story! Headphones is incredible just like all of their songs, but when you have the connection with other songs it makes listening even better! “I can hear you in my headphones, But you won’t hear me”
Bailey- I have no words to express about how much I love this song. Bailey is so uniquely Valley. It’s a true representation of how talented and unique they are as musicians. Bailey is a song that can never be replicated, nothing will ever sound like this track. Every Valley song is a vivid story that makes you feel immersed in every lyric. I am truly not embarrassed to say that my Spotify on repeat playlist had this track in the number one spot. “Oh god Bailey”
Stock SO- This song…. Number one it’s incredible live and feels like a fun 80’s techno song. To interpret this song the way I did, you need to listen to ever word and hear the story that is being told. This song is so fun and just makes you wanna dance! I recently seen Valley open for the Band Camino in Philly, and they played this and at the time I had no clue what it was, I was to busy dancing !! “ A trend in fashion, so broke but I gotta have it”
A phone call in Amsterdam (acoustic)- Now we all know how good the original is…. but the acoustic just blew my mind. It’s perfect in every sense. The harmonies are INSANE!! Almost every music lover, wants their favorite artist to do stripped down or acoustic versions of their favorite tracks. The acoustic version is pure magic, you wanna fall asleep listening to it just by hearing how soft and beautiful it is.
Nowhere fast- Reprise/Orchestration- As a music major, my heart completely burst at how perfect this remaster is. Every instrument blends so perfect with the next, the vocals feel even stronger than the original. In the first couple measures, the orchestra made me feel nostalgic to the Great Gatsby albums and the huge bands they had playing to help intensify the story. Imagine being so musically talented that you are able to create not only a new version of a song but create chills and feelings of nostalgia among it’s listeners… Yeah Valley did that! The new version of Nowhere fast is exceptionally beautiful and I highly recommend to listen to it with headphones on! You won’t regret it!
Conversation with Valley
How does it feel to have the Maybe chapter be closed?
Having the MAYBE chapter closed definitely feels like a huge sense of accomplishment and growth for us. Now the record isn’t ours anymore, it’s finding it’s home in peopleslives and experiences which is really incredible to watch happen. We’re now in the touring cycle too, which brings the internet to life and you get to see all of it unfold- thepeople and the stories they carry with MAYBE. It’s a really special thing that we will never take for granted.
Thinking back to when Maybe was being created, did you ever expect it to be so well received by the public?
We never really expected anything. After releasing This Room Is White into the world and Swim being the first song to put us on the map in the streaming world ect. , we had somewhat of an idea of where we wanted to take things when it came to sounds, visuals and fairly loose concepts but never could we have imagined what MAYBE would turn into. It’s so special to us.
Out of all the tracks on the whole body of work, what is your favorite and why?
There are definitely numerous favourites for different reasons. Driving late at night we love Headphones and A Phone Call in Amsterdam. When we play live, Push for Yellow and Sports Car are really fun. It’s so difficult to choose cause it’s all based on mood and situation!! but Nowhere Fast and Watery Brain will forever and always be special for us.
What was it like to be able to surprise fans with the side c release? was it hard to keep a secret??
It’s so funny you say that!! it was originally intended to be released under a full promoted and marketed release plan BUT often throughout side a and b’s release cycle we would hint of a “side c” on like Instagram live-streams and posts ect. So some people kinda knew what was coming but also the surprise element helped in the end. Everyone just woke up on release day to MAYBE appearing as one complete body of work AND they had a bunch of new songs!! it worked out great. We’re happy.
What was it been like touring with The Band Camino?
It’s been a dream. We’ve had quite the shared fan base thanks to Spotify related artists, so this tour was bound to happen. the Band Camino and their crew are some of the most hard working people we’ve ever met. They all have such good heads on their shoulders and have put in their 10,000 hours. This tour feels like summer camp that doesn’t end and we’re incredibly grateful that we get to be apart of their journey. Every night we watch and learn so much their work ethic, their performance, their songwriting ect. Can’t say enough nice things about those boys 🙂
Now that Maybe is over, what’s the next goal you want to accomplish as a band?
Touring as much as we can for sure!! and writing as much new music as possible. In regard to touring, we really would love to play Maybe live for as many new people as possible. All over the world. Maybes lifespan is definitely just beginning when it comes to touring. We’d love to play Europe and Asia!! And in regards to new music, we’re unsure what we’re gonna do next but we know that we want to release music at a quicker rate and focus on a second album at some point. Maybe just drop a bunch singles? maybe an ep? album? We shall see. 2020 seems very promising and we’re stoked.
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