Ah! You can’t go far wrong with power chords, angst ridden vocals and tripped out lyrics and, duly, Valley Queen have little problem finding favour with their debut album “Supergiant” whilst demonstrating that they have what it takes to fill a stadium in the future.
The ten songs here have that currently fashionable Los Angeles retro sound which is, in commercial terms, no bad thing and they put it all together with a respectable degree of style that draws as much on the eighties intelligentsia rock as it does on more freeform sixties influences. The difference is that Valley Queen haven’t limited themselves to ticking just those trendy boxes and, instead, throw their all into creating an alternative interpretation of the ghosts of music’s past rather than simply standing in the shadows of past hits. You can, of course, hear much that is familiar but nothing here seems stale with much of the credit for that falling on the broken glass guitar of Shawn Morones that alternately cuts and welds these songs into a fresh new form.
There is also much to commend in Natalie Carol’s near theatrical approach to the art of singing with “Ride” and “Chasing The Muse” becoming so much more than mere songs when in her charge. Even in slower paced songs like “Highway Pearls”, it is evident that she has that special something that makes her words run deeper than the ocean.
This is a debut album that exudes the confidence of an established band. Valley Queen deserve to accede to the throne.