Canadian Indie Pop Band Valley released their third album, Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden, on August 30, 2024. The album consists of a 12-song tracklist including their recent single, "Bass Player’s Brother." The band consists of Rob Laska on lead vocals, Alex Dimauro on bass, and Karah James on drums.
What specific experiences or moments inspired renewal or growth on this album?
Valley: A lot of the themes were kind of like that pivot point of being a kid and realizing you're not a kid anymore. But also we don't feel like adults. It's kind of us trying to figure out why we're continuing to live in this gray zone. Also resisting losing our youth and losing that spirit, having to deal with very adult problems. I think that is where it first stemmed from. Like how do we not lose this inner child spirit? We've been so lucky to have all connected over that. We love doing things that we did as a kid. We're on the same page but when you're faced with things that are very adult. You kind of have to grow up a little bit and figure that out. That's initially where the album stemmed from. We're all going through a similar period of growth and navigating it together. It's about growing, are you growing together, and are you growing apart with people from your past? Or are you continuing those same relationships you had or are moving on? Also looking back at friends and bandmates from the last 10 years of knowing each other. Looking at this beautiful thing we've been building. It hasn't always been the most smooth thing but we're really proud of our friendship and our band. Looking at that as being a big garden, that's kind of where it all stems from. You have your weeds, pests, flowers, and vines. All these things that make up a person's life. When you step back and look at it you see a garden not just a weed or a flower. You see it's a combination of everything. That's a really beautiful thing. That's what brought us to write an album, essentially about that. We wrote a garden-themed album.
Is there a core moment you can think of from making the album?
Valley: A lot of funny stuff and stories. One fond one that I'm really proud of is the title track. That was the only song we struggled with from the album because it was the first track and the start of the album. We really wanted to make sure we opened the door to the universe of the album, clearly, distinctly, and confidently. I think we struggled with how to make that song confident but also not. We went through a million versions of that song. One of my favorite memories is from the last day of making the album. We were in a cabin in the mountains and we hit a wall. Chase looked at us and was like “Fuck it, Alex get on the base, Karah get on the drums, Rob get on the guitar and we’re just gonna track the song live like we’re 15 playing in your parents' basement." No attachment to the outcome, just vibing. It was just a happy memory because I remember we plugged in, put our headphones in and started the track. We just started playing and right away I saw a smirk on his face like, "oh, we cracked the code." It was just going back to the thing no one can take away from you. The thing that makes you inherently unique is when you get in a room, the three of you there's an energy that you can't buy. It's 11 years of playing our instruments together. That's the magic, it was a really special moment. It was one of those moments that levelled us all to the same position in the room. Beyond all the gear and everything we’re here because when we pick up our instruments we do a thing that you can't quantify, buy or sell. It's just a thing that grew from years of playing together. How did you guys feel before the album came out and now that it’s out how do you feel?
Valley: We feel oddly fine. I think leading up to it there maybe was a little nervousness. I think that comes with putting out anything really honest, vulnerable, and authentic. It's like giving people an entry to your diary of where you've been. It's scary but the internal shame you feel of not doing that is much worse than being a little scared and doing it anyway and putting yourself out there. Especially putting out this album, we've looked at it that way. Yes, it's scary and we're kind of scared to put out personal music in the world, but it's also all we've ever wanted to do is just tell people real stories and what's happening in our lives. That risk has such greater rewards spiritually and emotionally than suppressing that and being scared to do that. It's oddly been a breath of fresh air to do that. We're in our own skin right now and feel really good. Obviously, the songs talk about a lot of hardship and difficult things for us to still process. We're just happy to have it out there because we know someone is probably going through something similar. They have this record to attach to now and knowing that it's out there and people are connecting to it that’s a bonus. Do you think your sound has evolved over the years or do you think you've maintained consistency across each project?
Valley: We've never intentionally set out to be like we're going to do a genre shift or go here or there. Every decision we make we make by our own design. Even early on, at the time, when we made "Swim," one of the first songs we ever put out, we were like "Let's put a sitar in the drop because it's fun." There was one band I was listening to that was sampling Bollywood and I thought that was so interesting. I was like that feels fun, let's try that. Not for a second were we like "Oh no, that's odd for the music we're making we're not going to bring in a sitar." We've always had that stone overturning idea of what if we just tried that. Even though that might not fit in with what we're at right now. Let's just do it anyway. I think that type of perspective is important for growth and exploring. There's also times where you do something and you're like, "Oh, maybe we went too far. Maybe that didn't feel exactly right for what we're trying to say or do." I'll always take that type of openness and curiosity then setting rules and being like this is where we're at sonically and this is how we do things. Leading up to this record, we took stuff away a little bit. We realized we don't need as much going on. What's most important is us on our instruments, us saying something that is truthful and meaningful that has a purpose. We just stripped away layers that weren’t always needed. Chase played a big role in that. We don't need more drum samples, Karah is playing right now and it's doing the job. Or Rob, we're not going to do the verse 60 times 'til we get the perfect verse take. We'll do it 3 times because you're feeling it and in the moment and that is what we're keeping. Even if it's recorded with an iPhone. We're keeping things because it feels right, not because there's a bar set.
Listen to Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden: HERE