Black Valley Moon
Valrico, Florida, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2019 | INDIE
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The Baleful Sounds Of Black Valley Moon Vol. 1 displays all the hallmarks of a classic instrumental surf-garage album, 12 tracks deliciously drenched in fuzzed out tones. Opening track Skyway To Hell kicks down the door with virtuoso fret work, while Gaspar’s Revenge is the prototypical surf track, reverb soaked guitar with crashing waves mixed beautifully throughout. It’s not all surf though, Talk To Me Summer slows the pace with a surfed up cover of Screeching Weasel. My personal favorite track would have to be Beach Party Of The Damned, classic surf style complete with rumbling drums, and lead and rhythm guitars taking up opposite sides in the mix.
Check out Skyway To Hell below, and if your fortunate enough to be in Tampa on August 30th, you can catch Black Valley Moon at Hooch and Hive. While the album is scheduled for August 31st, the band promises to have copies available on the 30th. The lineup for the night also includes Changer and A Rainy Night In. - punkanormalactivity.com
The Sharawaji Records roster has been growing steadily and adding more high-profile releases. They recently grabbed some attention for the upcoming Chewbacca’s record, but meanwhile this little gem snuck under the radar. Black Valley Moon features the guitarist from Epitaph punk band Down By Law, but they do a great job of carving out a unique surf that feels accomplished and comfortable within the genre.
The one funny thing here is that their bark is definitely worse than their bite. I don’t think they sound all that baleful or skin-crawlin’, in fact I get a pretty solid beach party vibe from them. Maybe not quite as exuberant and gleeful as Frankie and the Pool-Boys… and yet that’s a band that pops into my head. The opener “Skyway to Hell” feels like a big-stage festival number, a little jammy and all over the place, but with a punchy organ motivating your feet.
“Glade Runner Blues” has an autumn feel to it, a little cooler and with some acoustic guitar in the mix, but still still boppin with some danceable surf tropes. That backup acoustic shows up several times throughout the album and is used to great effect each time.
“Beach Party of the Damned” is a clear clambake, with saxophone popping in to lighten the mood. It swirls into mysterious territory, but pops back into party mode, sorta like “a little bit softer now, a little bit louder now”, still staying fun.
There’s a few Western-styled tracks on here like “The Ballad of Ransom Clark” but they still go back to showy guitar-driven melody.
I think they’ve got a good command of the emotions they want to portray. “Cemetary Romance” feels genuinely romantic (and a little cemetary), and “Talk to me summer” is sweet. And when they actually want to get a little creepy like on “Shadows of Alafia” it feels suitably Halloween.
We’ve seen a number of punk groups stop by for a surf record (Swami John Reis, The Bronx), and the “Vol. 1” in the corner suggests that maybe Black Valley Moon will actually stick around. I hope so, they’ve got something good here. - Storm Surge Of Reverb
Bio
Started in early 2019 by Sam Williams, guitarist and song writer for seminal 90's punk band Down By Law (Epitaph Records), Dave Kamrath and Don Butler, Black Valley Moon is a unique instrumental trio. Guitar rock inspired by sounds of the 1960s, but with a modern edge and a dark image. Equal parts surf, jazz, americana, garage, punk, and western, BVM pays strict attention to song writing above all else. The band has released their debut full-length, 'The Baleful Sounds Of Black Valley Moon', on Sharawaji Records. They also have a song on Cleopatra Records' 'Punk Rock Halloween II' compilation, along side such artists as the Vandals and Johnny Thunders. Black Valley Moon's sound is accessible enough to play with a wide array of bands in varying genres, and in front of a wide spectrum of audiences. They would be as at home opening for the Misfits or Unknown Hinson as they would playing with the Shins or at a family car show.
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