October 1, 2020 by A.S. Van Dorston

The press release for the debut album by Trondheim-based Kings of the Valley cites Motorpsycho, King Crimson and Yawning Man. While those are perfectly reasonable RIYL/FFO (for fans of) starting points, there’s plenty more going on beneath the overlay of psych, prog and fuzzy desert rock.

There’s been a trend in recent years of certain European bands in the hard rock, psych/prog and stoner scene to also reference the smooth, laidback sounds of American west coast psychedelic folk, along with some southern rock influences, including fellow Norwegians Shaman Elephant, Sugarfoot, Orango, Germany’s Coogans Bluff, and Australia’s Turtle Skull among others.

Kings Of The Valley’s smooth, harmonized vocals at times tap into Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, such as on the languid, dreamy “The Golden Shore” and the harmonized vocals on “Living By Default.” The guitar riff on that song has a vaguely underlying folk blues feel tapping into Creedence Clearwater Revival and Lynyrd Skynyrd as well as contemporary American bands White Denim, Bask and Monarch. Kings Of The Valley has a very understated approach, however, that comes across as much more gentle than most of the contemporary bands cited, digging out their own cool little niche.

Problem is, the five tracks in just under 41 minutes leaves one craving more. Their self-titled EP from 2017 adds three more tracks and 18 more precious minutes that are nearly as great as the new album, both of which were recorded in Brygga Studio in Trondheim by Pål Brekkås and Øystein Megård. | Buy