Opening up for the Arkells, Toronto indie pop band Valley hit the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium stage first on Saturday, November 30, 2024.
Photographer Kevin Metcalfe was at the show for SWOMP and captured these photos:
As Valley reach a decade of releasing and performing music, they have had to re-learn how to be a band together. The JUNO Award-nominated band’s third album, *Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden* (out today via Capitol Records/Universal Music Canada), proves just how adaptable and unbreakable the trio can be.
Last fall, Valley were at a crossroads. They were in therapy, working through the usual growing pains that long-established bands face after years on the road and the weight of viral success. While on tour with Dermot Kennedy, Rob Laska (lead vocalist), Alex Dimauro (bassist), and Karah James (drummer) found a beacon of hope: a forgotten demo of the song “Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden.”
Today’s title track was actually written at the same time as their critically-acclaimed viral hit “Like 1999,” released in February 2021. “Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden,” a song about love, loss, and finding the silver linings, remained tucked away in a Dropbox full of unreleased demos for the next three years while “Like 1999” inspired a more pop direction for Valley, which they pursued with gusto on 2021’s *Last Birthday* and last year’s JUNO-nominated album *Lost in Translation*.
“We really had these two paths that we previously didn’t know we had,” Karah reflects on the discovery of the old song. While “Like 1999” and their ensuing pop direction did many wonderful things for them, “Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden” has brought them back to who they were always meant to be—somewhere more playfully between indie, folk, and pop, with the lyrical depth of a band that has worked through every stage of the grieving process.
Karah adds, “It feels like us. It feels like a path that finally feels like Valley.”
Decamping to a cabin in the Smoky Mountains in February, under the guidance of COIN’s Chase Lawrence, Valley spent the entire month with very little access to the outside world. Stuck in their feelings, the band processed their heartbreak and the future together following the departure of founding guitarist Mickey Brandolino.
“The songs just poured out of us,” Rob explains. “I think that’s a true sign of when you’re making something special. We weren’t looking for things to write about. We knew exactly what we needed to write about. This is the first time I think we’ve ever witnessed as a band where everything’s there, we just have to reach and grab it.”
Today’s focus track, the intimate, folky “Bop Ba,” explores the changes in their lives. It has a different meaning for each member, with Rob relating it to his mother’s struggle with bipolar disorder, while Karah drew inspiration from a feeling of dependency and unhealthy attachment in a romantic relationship. Over the course of the album, you will hear the true pain and true joy Valley experienced while making it. In hitting rock bottom, they found new stones to turn over in their garden, leading to the band’s “most intimate and personal and special record,” lead singer Rob Laska says, with enthusiastic nods from Karah and Alex. “This is the record we’ve always dreamed of making.”
The JUNO Award-nominated band Valley returns this year with their most intimate and personal record yet. *Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden*, out now via Capitol Records/Universal Music Canada, is an exploration of grief and resilience from one of today’s most exciting alternative-pop bands.
Since forming in 2016, Valley has accrued over 1 billion streams globally, appearing on viral charts in the US, Philippines, Korea, Japan, and more. Along with their three JUNO Award nominations, the band has also garnered praise from *Consequence*, *Wonderland*, *American Songwriter*, and CBC. Helping prompt much of their global recognition was “Like 1999,” a gold-certified hit that went viral on TikTok.
Valley has also become known for their high-energy live shows, which have graced renowned festivals like Life Is Beautiful, Governors Ball, Slow Life, and Wunderstruck, as well as their debut US TV performance as part of Stephen Colbert’s #LiveAtHome session. Having opened for artists like Lennon Stella, Dermot Kennedy, COIN, and the Band CAMINO, Valley nearly sold out their first-ever North American headlining tour.
Follow the band at https://www.thisisvalley.com/.