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The Valley Rules

By Brittney ⋅ June 12, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

The first thing you notice about The Valley is that they are loud. Really loud. Holy fuck that’s loud.

It was at last year’s Reverb Fest in Ballard that The Valley and I had our first sonic liason. Two friends and I were walking down Ballard Avenue towards another show when The Valley took to the outdoor stage. We heard them begin - you can’t help but hear - but we kept walking. After a few minutes, though, we came back. This was because the second thing you notice about The Valley is that they are good.

I don’t order the characteristics that way to be disparaging. It’s just that The Valley’s live sound is so POWERFUL that it’s hard, at first, to do anything but stand there and enjoy as the waves of rock wash over you. They’re also a great show in general: Dan Beloit is a delightful contrast of intense, sweaty vocals and powder blue guitar, and bassist Taku Mineshita’s undulating body movements have such abandon that he often seems to be almost making love to the speakers and amps. If you take the time to fully explore the band’s music, however, you’ll be richly rewarded.

This is not a straightforward band: the whitecaps on The Valley’s hard-rock surface conceal a vibrant, complex reef of music. Awaiting the careful listener are hints of surf rock, metal, and the very best kind of pop. Sing-along choruses reside next to rich waves of feedback. The Valley’s songs roam the musical map freely, while proving that not all who wander are lost — somehow, beautifully, it all comes together.

Out now is the Purple Octopus EP, which at six songs is both delightful and teasing - like one half of a really nice meal. Like the show at Reverb Fest, this CD keeps bringing me back, and I’m pleased that The Valley’s website implies they have another full-length in the works. In the meantime, the EP, on CD and vinyl, is available at Sonic Boom Records and at their shows. Play it loud.

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The Valley plays TOMORROW, June 13, at the Georgetown Music Fest.

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