Feeling dark? Overwhelming anger turned into bitter resentment and a dread of getting out of bed in the morning? Then don’t listen to No Valley’s latest, “Over Time Scattered.” Songs have lyrics and lines like: “It’s the right time to quit…When I get back, I’m not on drugs. When I get back, I’m not in love.” “You’re the only one who dies.” “Everything is melting, slowly and silently.” “I saved this carcass for you, because I thought you’d be hungry and I know that we ain’t got much to eat.”
I don’t know If the boys in this band are genuinely coming from a place that’s this bleak, or whether they’ve just taken too many drugs to pull out of the negative space, or whether they just relate to the darkness. But whatever it is, it’s powerful.
My only complaint: “Charlie don’t surf” isn’t a Clash cover. Not that Joe Strummer has a monopoly on creating a song based on a line from one of the greatest movies of all time, but that’s a pretty specific and obscure reference to murdering a population and taking their land just so we can have a party. But it fits. And it’s most upbeat song on the record, too.
So far, this is my favorite find of the year.
