Album Review: High Valley’s ‘Dear Life’
Dear Life is an exciting piece of art that serves as a solid platform for the bright career High Valley has ahead of them.
High Valley keeps in line with traditional country sounds while they explore Americana, rock and pop influences in their major-label debut album, Dear Life. Tracks of inspiration, desires of the heart and their journey as musicians make up the record. The 11-track project experiments with a variety of beats and guitar picking that keep the music interesting while they share their pitch-perfect harmonies.
Production elements blend genres to create foot-tapping beats and melodies that replay through your head all day. High Valley make their own sound that will stand out on country radio while staying in touch with country roots that serve as each tune’s platform.
The Canadian country group’s lead single, “Make You Mine,” has the most interesting sound on the album. It sticks out among the rest and will draw intrigued listeners into explore what other stories the duo has to offer.
“Dear Life,” the title track, shares feelings about making choices while growing up. Its message will resonate with much of their audience and may be representative where they are in their own life. It follows similar patterns as surrounding tracks, including heavy drums that bring the song to life.
“The Only” and “She’s With Me” have comparable themes of adoration. Their obvious pop influences match the song’s tone with complimenting faster-tempo beats. The featured repetitive hooks just about guarantee them stuck in your head all day as you fight the urge to dance along.
Americana influence is heaviest in the No. 8 title, “I Be U Be.” The back-and forth nature of the song has hints of tribal elements as strong imagery describes an ideal love scenario. Just as many other included tracks, “I Be U Be” stays clear of electric guitar solos and focuses on percussion and diction, a factor that might become a signature in their career.
The closing track, “Young Forever” has a similar vibe that compares to Billy Currington’s “We Are Tonight.” The embrace-the-moment trend adds a brightness to the album that contributes to its already high-spirited qualities.
Emotional tracks intertwined with flirty fun songs lead to this diverse album. Dear Life is an exciting piece of art that serves as a solid platform for the bright career they have ahead of them.
