Valley
Article by Brittany Ormiston
Hosted by: 1824 - UMG’s creative solutions team
Photo by: Becca Hamel
Alternative/pop band Valley is returning to authenticity with their new album Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden. The body of work stemmed from the pivotal point in life when you are no longer a child, but navigating the world as an adult feels uncanny. Despite the uncertainty, renewal and growth take place along the way to lead to a stunning transformation. “You have your weeds, pests, flowers, vines, all these things that make up a person’s life. And when you step back and look at it, you see it’s a garden…it’s all a combination of everything. It’s a really beautiful thing, and that’s what brought us to writing an album about that,” shares Karah.
Earlier this year, Rob (lead vocalist), Karah (drummer), and Alex (bassist) all went through a period of grief and resilience. For the first time since forming the band in 2016, they processed the same experience and their emotions together as one. Enduring the pain of their friend leaving the band, and simultaneously displaying happiness for his new beginnings was no easy feat. “We established a deeper understanding of what it feels for us to hold each other in that space, and to process life changing in front of us. Figuring out that this [band] is the one constant we can tend to and protect,” stated Rob wholeheartedly. Valley took a magnifying glass to this major life change, and the result is twelve tracks of pure honesty and transparency.
The band went back to their roots, and set out to “create music without expectation.” They had countless conversations with their friend and producer, Chase Lawrence (COIN), about this mindset. During one of their talks, Chase said, “Stop expecting things from the music. Just give it your all, and that is enough.” Focusing less on every little detail, and doing whatever felt right in the moment allowed Valley to let go and create an unfiltered album they are the most proud of. By leading with grace and empathy while also setting strict ground rules, Chase made a life-long impact on Rob, Karah, and Alex. They were given the freedom to process, mourn, and heal without the pressure of making one song after another. Chase’s ability to “pull the truth and authenticity from someone” now has Valley looking at every role as creatives through a different lens.
Valley zeroed in on the magic of playing music together, and found the inspiration and comfort they had been looking for. As they created Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden, the band continued the Valley tradition of layering various sounds within the tracks. There is a buzzing sound in ‘Mosquito,’ and in ‘Cocoon’ the “snare sound is Karah’s dog Cosmo, and the high hat is the collar of Rob’s dog Cooper.” The band closed the album with ‘Cocoon’ as a final goodbye to their best friend while also acknowledging grief as a superpower when you take it with you throughout life. Letting go leads to being rewarded in ways you don’t expect. Valley embarked through a treacherous storm, and emerged reborn. They were brave enough to put pen to paper, and display their most authentic selves through Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden. Life continues onward even in the face of challenges and change, but with Valley alongside us the journey is full of sunshine and wildflowers.
“If you spend your time chasing butterflies, they'll fly away. But if you spend time making a beautiful garden, the butterflies will come…” - Mário Quintana
