Valley Lights shows you a side of synthwave pop and rock behind all the glitter and glamour. This is not to say that this artist does not show you the brilliance of what the 80s had to offer us through the evolution of pop. This is adding all the panache, pzazz, and dedication to groove to create something that listeners can cherish forever. His latest album is called Devil May Care.
Music that really pops
From the dance hall numbers of Hall and Oates to what the brilliant Whitney Houston and Madonna set as a foundation, you’re getting a taste of it all. Opening it up with the colourful Giving Up on You, Valley Lights doesn’t bask in the over-exposed luminescence of minimalism. This is baroque, groovy textures with a voice that is as energised as it is emotive. The lead synth harmonises with his vocals to create a memorable loop that you’ll want to hum all day long. There is a cinematic, dramatic appeal that comes from a track like Alexandra. Whether it’s a muse or former love or just the idea of a woman like this, Valley Lights knows exactly how to craft an incredible piece of art about and around her.
The way the percussions are played with to create this vast space and suddenly capture it with a catchy chorus is something I’ll want to play on a loop. This is not music that is attuned to cater to any algorithm. It’s supposed to tell a story from either a time or a place from the heart of an artist, one that’s beating. That’s why when you listen to the synth-soaked 80s sound coming from a song like Fading Lights, you’re immediately dragged back to that time, though you are living in the now.
Finding growth, and a new journey
From the previous collection called Two Lane Highway, this artist has explored themes that don’t just broaden the scope of inspiration but really finesse and fine-tune the way certain rhythms make us feel. The bright tones on Collateral Damage were something I wanted to tear down just to know what kind of reverb quality of tone, treble, and effort went into the mixing. For your own sake I suggest you listen to this entire album either while on a drive with the windows up and the music blasting or wear headphones and get transported to a whole other world.
As you progress down to songs like Indiscretions, it becomes clear that Valley Lights has incrementally improved as an artist while maintaining his signature sound. There is that funky undertone that you have heard electronic legends like Daft Punk used, but the way it’s been used here really elevates the song and gives the stylistic consistency a break as well. Whether it’s capturing the emotions of a place or very stylistically adhering to a certain kind of theme, I think I have not heard anyone do it in the indie space the way this musician has. Listen to the songs here:
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