Valley’s “Lost in Translation” translates into rising stardom

By Kaitlyn Wilkes

In a world where indie pop and alt-pop can blend together in singular guitar chords and tempos, Canadian alt-pop group Valley’s sophomore album Lost in Translation continues to lean into the more pop side of the genre. Weightless synths, spacy guitars and combinations of introspection, bitterness and vulnerability blend to solidify their spots as rising stars. 

The 40-minute album boasts 15 songs, meaning a majority of the songs don’t reach the three minute mark. What the compositions lack in length, they make up for in production and lyrics that are tight, sharp, punctuated and intentional. 

“Theme” seamlessly segues into the title track, giving listeners a slightly reminiscent 90s power pop sound with large pauses between boisterous hits on the drums. A wall of steady guitar strums rounds out the chorus and gives insight into the common themes of the album. “Have A Good Summer (Without Me)” echoes the more biting lyrical sentiments of the album, with muted instrumentals giving lead singer Rob Laska a prominent soap box to spill his guts. Rounding out the LP, “Keep My Stuff” explores Laska’s falsetto with an intricate acoustic guitar backing. The lyrics that detail not taking your stuff back at the end of a relationship because it hurts too much builds on the relatability Valley has spent an entire album assembling.  

When thinking about a group’s second album, I often take into consideration the title of early Fall Out Boy track “Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year” to determine how I feel about the record in question. Valley has released music since their last long play piece in early 2022, making Lost in Translation not necessarily a “comeback” by definition. However, this album is a comeback in the sense that it proves that Valley is still capable of long form projects and doing them well. So, taking into consideration Valley’s sneakily powerful 2019 debut LP Maybe and subsequent electric EP’s, the natural progression of the foursome is clear; Lost in Translation is Valley’s reintroduction into longer projects, and therefore falls into the “comeback of the year” category.