Valley (band)

Last updated
Valley
Valley at History - Dec 13, 2024.jpg
Valley performing at History in Toronto in December 2024. Left to right: Karah James, Feurd, Rob Laska, Alex Dimauro
Background information
Origin Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres indie pop, pop
Years active2014–present
Labels
Members
  • Rob Laska
  • Alex Dimauro
  • Karah James
Past members
  • Ben Lee
  • Michael "Mickey" Brandolino
Website www.thisisvalley.com

Valley is a Canadian indie pop band based in Toronto.

Contents

The band members are lead vocalist Rob Laska, bassist Alex Dimauro, and drummer Karah James. [1] They received a Juno Award nomination for Breakthrough Group of the Year at the 2020 Juno Awards [2] as well as a nomination for Group of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2022. [3]

History

Valley on tour in 2019. Left to right: Michael Brandolino, Karah James, Rob Laska, Alex Dimauro Valley (band) profile photo by Shannon Beveridge (@nowthisisliving) 2019.jpg
Valley on tour in 2019. Left to right: Michael Brandolino, Karah James, Rob Laska, Alex Dimauro

The band formed in 2014 after the members of two other bands accidentally got double-booked for the same time slot at a local recording studio. Other names considered were Thieves, The Engineers, and Grouphug. [4] They released their debut EP, Car Test, in 2015, and followed up with This Room Is White in 2016. [5] In 2018 they released Maybe Side A, the first of two EPs featuring tracks planned for their full-length debut album; [1] the second EP, Maybe Side B, followed in spring 2019, and the full album Maybe was released in September. [6]

Valley released their single "Nevermind" in July 2020, [7] which was then followed by "Hiccup" in September. [8] On October 15, Valley announced the release of their EP, Sucks to See You Doing Better, which featured both "Nevermind" and "Hiccup", as well as four new tracks, including an acoustic version of "Hiccup". [9]

In February 2021, Valley released their single "Like 1999" [10] and announced they would tour with Coin in over 30 cities across North America, beginning in October. [11]

Midway through 2021, they released the single "Society", which the band says came from their previous experiences of balancing an accessible narrative with their artistic pursuits. [12] On July 23, 2021, they released the single "Tempo". [13]

The single "Homebody" was a nominee for the 2021 SOCAN Songwriting Prize. [14] "Oh Shit...Are We in Love?" was released on September 1, 2021.

In March 2024, lead guitarist Brandolino announced he was parting ways with the band. He stated it was due to wanting to pursue music production full-time. Later that year, the band released Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden on August 30, 2024. The album was their first album as a trio and was produced by Chase Lawrence from the band COIN. [15] [16]

Their fans are lovingly called Val Pals which the band has embraced in their email and Instagram content. [17] Val Pals meet up regularly when the band is on tour to show their loyalty and support.

Members

List of members and roles.

Touring members

Former members

Discography

Albums

List of albums
TitleRelease dateLabel
MaybeSeptember 17, 2019 Universal Music Canada
Last BirthdayOctober 1, 2021 Capitol
Lost in TranslationJune 23, 2023 Universal Music Canada
songs that got lost in translationJanuary 19, 2024 Universal Music Canada
Water the Flowers, Pray for a GardenAugust 30, 2024 Universal Music Canada

Extended plays

List of extended plays
TitleRelease dateLabel
Car TestApril 22, 2015
This Room Is WhiteJune 3, 2016
Sucks to See You Doing BetterOctober 23, 2020 Universal Music Canada
Last BirthdayJanuary 12, 2022

Singles

List of singles
TitleRelease dateAlbum
"Drive"November 18, 2016Non-album singles
"Swim (Reprise)"March 9, 2018
"LA in Two" (Valley Rework)
(with Elio)		March 19, 2021
"Like 1999"March 30, 2021Last Birthday
"Society"June 9, 2021
"Tempo"July 21, 2021
"Champagne"June 16, 2022Non-album singles
"The Problem Song"September 29, 2022
"Throwback Tears"January 12, 2023Lost In Translation
"Good, but Not Together"March 2, 2023
"Break for You"April 24, 2023
"Have a Good Summer (Without Me)"June 1, 2023
"We Don't Need Malibu"June 21, 2023
"Keep My Stuff"June 23, 2023
"When You Know Someone"May 10, 2024Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden
"Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden"June 7, 2024
"Bass Player's Brother"July 11, 2024
"Let it Rain"August 22, 2024
"Crawlspace"August 30, 2024

Awards and nominations

Juno Awards

The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music.

YearNominee / workAwardResult
2020ThemselvesBreakthrough Group of the YearNominated
2022ThemselvesGroup of the YearNominated

SOCAN Songwriting Prize

The SOCAN Songwriting Prize, formerly known as the ECHO Songwriting Prize, is an annual competition recognizing the best in Canadian emerging music, both anglophone and francophone.

YearNominee / workAwardResult
2021"homebody"Song of the YearNominated

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References

  1. 1 2 Alexandra Johnson Dingee, "Seeing yellow with indie rockers VALLEY". Queen's Journal , November 29, 2018.
  2. ↑ Melody Lau, "Alessia Cara and Tory Lanez lead the 2020 Juno nominations". CBC Music, January 28, 2019.
  3. ↑ "And the Nominees Are." The JUNO Awards. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  4. ↑ John Bkila, "Oakville’s Valley releases debut album". Inside Halton , May 14, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Valley, 'This Room Is White". Exclaim! , June 1, 2016.
  6. ↑ Gina Scarpino, "Get To Know: Valley". Beyond the Stage, September 18, 2019.
  7. ↑ Logan White, "PREMIERE: Valley will be in your head all day with "nevermind"
  8. ↑ Abhigyaan Bavaria, VALLEY releases another upbeat pop banger in "hiccup"
  9. ↑ Jarod, Valley Announce New EP + Release "hiccup" (acoustic)
  10. ↑ melodicmag (2021-04-01). "Valley release music video for TikTok song "Like 1999"". // MELODIC Magazine. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  11. ↑ "Alt-Pop Trio COIN To Perform At Fillmore On December 2nd". WCCB Charlotte's CW. 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  12. ↑ "Valley take a stand against music industry pressures on "Society"–listen". Alternative Press Magazine. June 9, 2021.
  13. ↑ Nguyen, Austin (22 July 2021). "Valley Set the". PopMatters. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  14. ↑ Megan LaPierre, "SOCAN Songwriting Prize Announces 2021 Finalists". Exclaim! , June 17, 2021.
  15. ↑ Rayner, Ben (13 December 2024). "Losing a band member was traumatic for Valley — but instead of just moping around they made an album: 'Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden'". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
  16. ↑ Megan LaPierre, "Valley Announce Third Album 'Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden'". Exclaim! Magazine , June 6, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Instagram".
  18. ↑ "We hold the last 10 years of friendship and making music with Mickey very close to our hearts..." X / Formerly known as Twitter. March 15, 2024.
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