“Think of bands like REM or maybe a happier Dinosaur Jr and you’ll know right where this group stands.” – Austin Town Hall
BRISBANE, Australia (May 31, 2022) – The Valery Trails announces the release of their album, The Sky is Blue, on August 12. With the travel season upon us, The Valery Trails takes the listener through a globetrotting exploration infused with energized guitar-walled hues.
In 2020 Andrew Bower moved back to Brisbane following an extended period of travel that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The album chronicles Bower’s stops around the world, including Jaisalmer India, the sleepy little beach community in Zancudo, Costa Rica, and Brisbane, Australia, where the journey started and ended.
The Sky Is Blue is The Valery Trails’ most ambitious work to date, with the band working without a deadline and taking the time to produce each song to its logical conclusion without strictly adhering to a rigid sonic framework. Help 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. He has recorded and mixed an eclectic mix of artists, including The Mountain Goats, Superchunk, St Vincent, and his own avant-garde / ambient projects such as Boxharp and The Balustrade Ensemble.
The Sky is Blue Track Listing
- Jaisalmer
- See Me Fall
- Zancudo
- The Sky Is Blue
- There but for the Grace
- These Times
- Make No Mistake
- Maybe
- Sometimes
- After the Show
About The Valery Trails
Andrew Bower (vocals/guitars), 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. The band has released three albums that have received airplay and charted on US and Canadian specialty and college radio and community radio in the US, Australia, and Europe. Songs by The Valery Trails have appeared on PBS’ “Roadtrip Nation” and MTV’s “Teen Mom 2” and been featured in online videos for the Dew Tour extreme sport online videos. In 2020 Andrew moved back to Brisbane following an extended travel period interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In between lockdowns and as restrictions eased, the band was able to spend time in the studio, producing a wealth of material for a busy 2022 release schedule. The Introvert Blues EP was released on February 25, followed by the Disappear EP on May 20, leading up to The Valery Trails’ fourth album, The Sky Is Blue, on August 12.
Praise for The Valery Trails
“their reference points are late ’80s college rock, which they channel into songs that are rugged and melodic — think the best moments of Sugar and Buffalo Tom and you’re getting close.” – J. Edward Keyes
“Split between Houston, Texas and Brisbane, Australia, the Valery Trails return with “Starsong,” which blurs the already quite blurry line between the band’s tense shoegaze and wide-open, melodic guitar rock.” – KDHX Song of the Day
“Yeah, we’re diggin’ this tune [Starsong], and not just because it reminds us of “Pretty In Pink” by Psychedelic Furs. OK, maybe that’s the main reason we like it, but we also get a Social Distortion vibe; that’s cool, too. And hey — e-bow solo!” – The Big Takeover
“If you’re looking to make your road movie about wide-open spaces and foolish choices coming back to haunt you, this just might be your soundtrack.” – PopMatters
