Valley

Valley burst onto the scene in the mid-2010s with an upbeat fusion of indie pop energy and memorable melodies, catapulting to viral attention after issuing a pair of self-released EPs. Hailing from Toronto, the quartet secured a Universal contract in 2017 and achieved their first major breakthrough when their 2019 debut full-length, Maybe, earned a Juno Award nomination. Additional widely streamed singles and EPs, among them 2022’s The After Party, preceded the arrival of their second album, Lost in Translation, in 2023.

Originally formed in Oakville, Ontario, the group coalesced by happenstance near the close of 2013 when members of two separate bands—Cars & Guitars and National Parks—were erroneously double-booked at a local studio. Singer Rob Laska, guitarist Michael Brandolino, bassist Alex Dimauro, and drummer/singer Karah James connected immediately and resolved to join forces as Valley. Their initial six-track EP, Car Test, surfaced in 2015 and showcased their engaging pop craftsmanship; a year later they delivered the expanded nine-song set This Room Is White, whose richly textured single “Swim” soon racked up millions of streams. Within twelve months the band had landed a major-label agreement with Universal Music Canada and begun preparations for a full-length project.

Issued in installments, Maybe: Side A arrived in 2018 with half the material, followed by Maybe: Side B as a second EP in May 2019; the complete Maybe album appeared that September, spawning the hit “There’s Still a Light in the House” and securing the band a 2020 Juno Award nomination for Breakthrough Group of the Year. Later the same year Valley released the standalone single “Hiccup.”

As the new decade unfolded, the group adopted a pattern of one EP per year, beginning with sucks to see you doing better, continuing with Last Birthday in 2021, and reaching The After Party in 2022. Popular singles such as “Oh Shit...Are We in Love?” and “Like 1999” appeared alongside these releases and underscored Valley’s broad reach. In early 2023 the tracks “Throwback Tears” and “Good, But Not Together” introduced their sophomore LP, Lost in Translation.