Reviews
Valet
Blood Is Clean
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An eerie intro that manages to haunt and attract the listener at the same time, attracting in a sense that one wonders if the album will pick up, or if it will just stay at a dissonant loll like the beginning suggests. Valet describes their approach to their music as “channelling sounds from an unknown place” and claims that most of the songs were recorded in one take.
Honey Owens’ latest project is called Valet, an avant-garde instrumental arrangement that sets experiences to music by the means of musical phrases. Valet’s approach towards music is much less a musical interlude but a solitary moment set to music. The form of musical expression that Valet flirts with is a conglomeration of familiar sounds that have unexpectedly been mashed together.
Valet’s music will be hated by the classically trained musicians, for it harbours a great disregard for musical structure and predictability. Valet toys with listeners by surprising and attracting through their diverse instrumental choices and vocal arrangements. Picking up this album for its lyrical content is probably not of any value, for Owens’ lyrics are poignant and distinct, often making little sense or relevance to the listener. The lyric that stands out the most is drawn from the title track “Blood is Clean” where she professes “My blood is clean but the devil’s in me.” With this statement follows a steady beat that both intensifies and grounds the song, providing it with a bare frame in contrast with a wandering guitar solo.
Most of the material has obviously been layered and synced from completely separate recordings. The blend of sounds sustains a dissonant sound that can only be appreciated through a post-modern lens. Owens deconstructs musical tradition and mixes random sounds triggered by unknown musical motives. This void in her music can be attributed to her lack of lyrics and style of musical expression.
In comparison to other instrumental acts, Valet’s work has been drawn from a more imaginative state. The music itself does not say much, nor do the lyrics, leaving much of its relevance up to the listener’s discretion. The absence of direction in Valet’s music pushes their style towards a more ambient-based music. A dominant baseline in “Tame All the Lions” gives the listener the idea that the music will take more direction; however, as the synthesizer kicks in, as well as Owens’ eerie vocals, the direction of the music gradually becomes distorted and lost. The song regains direction as Owens repeats the unnerving words “tame all the lions.”
Valet’s free-flow composition has lost direction of the majority of the album, but through solid production the album has maintained a consistently strong song merge. Each track bleeds into the next with ease, despite their unpredictability.
To appreciate this music one must be in the right state of mind or be open towards the imaginative mash-ups dreamt up by composer Honey Owens.
Download: “Tame All the Lions” and “Blood is Clean”
Score: 6
It’s different and took a few serious listens to find any merit.
- Kim Stenshorn