The Valley Forge

The Valley Forge kick off their Second Blood EP by asking “Can you feel the new times coming?” but judging by their sonic references, I think it’s safe to hazard a guess that the new times will look and sound a lot like the rugged rock of the ’70s and ’80s. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. Throughout Second Blood, The Valley Forge show off a passionate dedication to the lyrical focus and vocal cord shredding tones of the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle and Neil Young, a triumvirate of righteously angry old men if ever there was one. Utilizing a stripped down percussive approach, The Valley Forge might have standard influences but they wield them in a way that puts them at odds with their more cluttered folk leaning brethren.

“New Times” is the immediate standout, in part because it so succinctly captures The Valley Forge’s unique structure. Apart from delivering his vocals like he’s screaming through a battlefield, John Valley also provides sparse percussion for the band, sticking to a floor tom and a tambourine and thus giving Tyler Speicher’s guitar plenty of room to alternate between screeching riffs and palm muted rhythm playing. Clearly calculated as an anthem of sorts for people who have felt a little out of place in their own era, “New Times” is coated in a simmering anger that keeps it from feeling like the wrong kind of preachy– this is closer to the carnival barker tent revival approach, complete with apocalyptic imagery. Even the video has the band looking like black clad end times preachers.

By contrast, “No, Not Me” talks a little softer but still carries a big stick, recalling the field folk melody of Steve Earle’s “Copperhead Road” as it lambasts corporate interests and the religious zealots who are too caught up in judging to actually follow the forgiveness oriented rhetoric of their own religion. Valley doesn’t run himself as ragged vocally here, which lets the melody breathe more than it does on other songs on the EP, and it’s a welcome respite from the heaviness. That said, it does make the lyrics clearer, which isn’t necessarily a blessing in this instance as Valley is prone to heavy handed refrains like this one: “Religical man, tell him where to stand /Will and the way, nobody better be gay.” Nothing about Valley’s songwriting is exactly subtle, but “No, Not Me” frequently veers into self-parody territory, which is too bad because the melody and structure of it shows off a different side of the group so well.

The softness also carries over to the album’s title track, which is about as close to a downtempo ballad The Valley Forge gets, though it’s paradoxically also the EP’s most epic track at nearly seven minutes in length. Valley’s lyrical focus for most of the EP is more detail oriented, honing in on observations and anecdotes, but “Second Blood” is more abstract, complete with a wordless background vocal from Speicher and bassist Sarah German, who function a bit like an angelic chorus here. There’s also some subtle organ playing filling out the background, providing the song even more of a gospel boost. It’s a suitable contrast to the more uptempo “This Side,” where the lyrical and sonic focus is on staying on the right side of temptation.”This Side” notably also uses those angelic backing vocals, but there’s less pay off, its chorus doesn’t quite reach the same heights.

That’s a fitting summary of the current state of The Valley Forge, too– ambitious, bold and passionate, the band is capable of making some divine music and the high water marks of Second Blood are more than enough incentive to keep checking in on the group. The legendary influences they’re pulling from obviously pack a heavy burden, but as the group gets more comfortable with the unique elements of their sound I think they’ll develop into one of the more remarkable Americana-leaning bands in Austin. - Ovrld

It was 2011 when John Valley and guitarist Tyler Speicher began writing music as The Valley Forge. Originally intended as a studio project, the duo honed in on their biggest influences – the fury and unflinching social commentary of Neil Young, the grit of Bruce Springsteen, the melodic pop/rock of Fleetwood Mac – and discovered their powerful roots rock voice. Bassist Sarah German joined the band last year. By then, the spirited twang, angry energy, and subtle beautiful touches of their American Men debut EP hit the scene. It presented a long, hard look into humanity, with all of its injustices and grief.

The feelings are even stronger on this year’s equally spirited release, Second Blood, with Valley’s vocals echoing fiercely throughout its anthemic tones. There are gentler melodies at some points, but the passion remains alive and on fire. - KUTX - Austin Music Minute

The Valley Forge was never supposed to be a band. When John Valley and Tyler Speicher reconnected in Austin, far from the cornfields of their childhood home in Conrad, Iowa, they didn’t set out to make an album. But Speicher had a handsome stash of recording equipment, and Valley (never one to leave a creative outlet untapped) started writing and recording, and two years later — that’s last November, for those keeping score — they wound up with this six-song EP, American Men.

Even more, The Valley Forge was never supposed to be a rock band. Yet to a great extent, American Men feels like a rock record. Valley’s tenor often goes gruff, grunge-y even, perhaps encroaching on Eddie Vedder territory when he howls in his upper register. Pounding drums, mighty refrains, and swells of church-house vocals populate a soundworld of acoustic and electric instruments, recalling the accoutrements of indie arena-rock.

Yet all of these songs could be stripped down to voice and acoustic guitar, and they’d still be folky stories about boys and girls in America. They recall the music of Greenwich Village: rebellious and critical, teeming with urgency, yet ultimately hopeful and patriotic. At heart, this is folk, and it’s decidedly American.

Take opener “Red Oak Roy.” Valley sets a pastoral scene, singing, “Red Oak Roy’s gonna build a barn / stand it up on his old man’s farm.” His vocal melodies ring out lofty and yearning like Springsteen, and amidst foreboding spaghetti western guitar, it sounds like nostalgia for the western frontier. Likewise, note the American Indian flutes and Civil War snare used elsewhere, as well as the explicit ‘merica-flak of the (standout) title track.

Altogether, this is an engrossing and cohesive debut from a budding local band, a deceivingly poppy, insidiously catchy bit of rock Americana. Be warned, though: if you catch them live, know that this more-or-less self-recorded EP has birthed a different beast, a stripped-down, amped-up three-piece with Valley standing at center stage beating on drums, Speicher on electric guitar, and new addition Sarah German holding it down on bass. Expect a second EP from these guys in the not-too-distant future. - Ovrld