With a euphoric use of horns and a jingle jangle pop swing, we are honoured to premiere the new single ‘Jaisalmer’ from Brisbane outfil The Valery Trails. Recalling the anthemic glory of fellow Brisbanites The Saints in their later, more melodic life, the track is dynamic and pulse quickening with a cool indie swagger and a joyful, indelible chorus.
Andrew Bower, singer/guitars, says of the track:
The first verse popped into my head while I was traveling through India and wouldn’t go away. I think it was my songwriting brain processing the chaos and sensory overload of India. I took some time to flesh out the lyrics, adding a second and third verse reflecting the travelling state of mind I was in, with the last line directly referencing my surroundings.
The horns add a certain golden filigree to the track. Bower says:
We resisted the temptation to add layers of fuzz and feedback like we often do, and added a horn section, which we have never done before. Once we heard the song with the horns (by Terminus Horns from Atlanta, Georgia) it was hard to imagine the song without them!
There is a heady whirl about the track: restless and energizing with a fuzzy undercurrent:
‘Jaisalmer’ is out tomorrow (Tuesday, 27 June 2022) via Bandcamp and all the usual streaming services here.
‘Jaisalmer’ will be on The Valery Trails’ newly announced album ‘The Sky Is Blue’, out on 12 August 2022.
Help on the album was enlisted from Brisbane friends Tim Steward (Screamfeeder, We All Want To – guitars and vocals) and Skye Staniford (We All Want To – vocals) as well as online collaborations with a horn section in Atlanta, Georgia (Terminus Horns) and strings by Swedish musician Filip Magnusson.
The album was mixed in North Carolina by Scott Solter, who has recorded and mixed an eclectic array of artists including The Mountain Goats, Superchunk, St Vincent and his own avant garde / ambient projects such as Boxharp and The Balustrade Ensemble.
Bower, an expatriate Australian then living in Houston, enlisted his brother Sean Bower (bass) and Dan McNaulty (drums) in his hometown of Brisbane, Australia to form The Valery Trails in 2011. With the assistance of the internet and some intercontinental travel, the trio developed a set of songs started in Andrew’s home studio into the band’s debut album Ghosts and Gravity, released in 2012.
Albums released in 2014 (Buffalo Speedway) and 2016 (Chameleon Bones), to differing degrees also involved long distance recording and exchanges of ideas but when Andrew move back to Brisbane in 2020 due to Covid-19, the band was ironically able to spend time with one another in the studio, between lockdowns and restrictions, producing a wealth of material for their busy 2022 release schedule.
Feature Photograph: Markus Ravik
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