I got invited Valley’s ‘The After Party EP’ and now I’m sad (but in a good way).
Written by: Shauna Hilferty
I’m convinced that this EP was crafted specifically for those who take pride in leaving parties early.
And I think that falling asleep to The After Party, after a party, would be the perfect end to a big night. Luckily, Valley invited us all to this 3-track get together, and I can’t say enough good things about it.
We start with the quick and muddled chatter of what could be a party, over an indie-pop piano in “Last Birthday.” The muddled voices become clearer as the first verse begins and are clearest right before the chorus. It’s dreamy and hopeful, recounting and reaffirming a love that will exist whether reciprocated or not. Rob and Karah’s back and forth in the chorus and bridge along with the acoustic guitar, soft backing vocals, and buildup to the last chorus is something we’ve heard with Valley – like in “Like 1999” and even way back when in “A Phone Call In Amsterdam.” Their songwriting method of building up to that last chorus with the layered vocals and dreamy instrumentals is a signature and is fitting here as the first song on this EP.
“7 Stories” is simply beautiful. The concept reminded me of John Mayer’s “Never On The Day You Leave,” recounting where a relationship had gone wrong and if you could fix it, and what it would be like if you did. That was, until the last two lines of the song where it felt like a one sided phone call accompanied by a guitar.
“Paper Cup” was the first song I heard from the EP. Reaching over two thousand likes in just a few hours, the simple minute long video of Rob playing the piano on the couch got me excited to hear the entire song. It was a stream of consciousness, poured out over a piano that joins a synth and some drums by the end. A song that is painfully self aware and claims to not have told a story, but I beg to differ.
After the release of their album The Last Birthday in October of 2021, Valley’s The After Party is a more than appropriate counterpart to celebrate the highs of life and recognize the lows. As long as you have people that you can truly be yourself around (and maybe a kick-ass band to write songs with) the lows aren’t so low.
I got the chance to ask the four-piece indie pop group some questions for The Music Enthusiast Blog. Here’s what Rob had to say about The After Party:
How are you all doing today?
Today we’re doing fantastic, strolling through Soho for Karah’s birthday!
What made you decide that these 3 tracks should be released separately from your most recent album, Last Birthday?
When we wrote Last Birthday we thought that it was the most special song we’ve written to date! We wanted to give it its own moment. The other two songs were buzzer beaters and felt like they furthered the story we wanted to tell with The After Party. Definitely quite a sad after party…
These tracks are noticeably slower in tempo (no pun intended) and lyrically as well. What/who influenced this change in pace?
Our natural pace of life dictated the pace of the music. This time of year, everything slows down so our music did too. The pandemic has been a reflective time for the band so we had time to focus inwards.
What is your favorite lyric in the EP?
When it’s all underground at least flowers will grow.
I’ll be with you after shitty dates, I’ll be with you if your last name changed.
How has writing The After Party felt different from your last EP, sucks to see you doing better?
Writing The After Party was more intense and more personal. This is by far our most vulnerable project and don’t think we’ve ever been more real lyrically.
What fairytale story did you have in mind when writing “7 Stories”?
Every one of those stories are real. Not a fairytale but real life!! Rob had gone through a breakup, Mickey and Alex had started the song one night and we finished it one evening together. It’s always super special when one of us is going through something and we can come together and write a song like that. Those moments don’t happen often!
Do you have a favorite party drink?
Cucumber Mist Gin or sangria!!
What are you most looking forward to this year?
Our first headline tour! the ‘I’ll be with you tour” and we can’t wait to catch you at a show :)