Ed Vallance - Volcano

Born in London but currently living in Brooklyn, ‘Volcano’ is the second album from Vallance. Apparently 2008’s debut ‘The Modern Life’ was ‘lush acoustic indie folk’, this latest batch of songs can hardly be classed as that, Vallance mixes pop and folk to create, while not something necessarily original, certainly genre-defying. ‘Volcano’ is the type of album that instantly sounds familiar. It’s like that greatest hits album by your favourite band that you had the privilege of compiling so none of the merely okay songs are included. Vallance has an inviting vocal style. There are no annoying quirks and it’s easy to lose yourself in his vocals. Thankfully Vallance sounds like no one else. There’s not a song here where you get the feeling that he’s trying to imitate any of his influences. In fact so varied are the songs, that it’s impossible to pin point just who Vallance’s heroes might be. What he has produced here is ten slices of classic, thoughtful pop. Vallance had a hand in writing all the songs on ‘Volcano’, the majority on his own and four with Simon Shippey, not that you’d notice the joins. All ten songs flow effortlessly so in Shippey he’s found the perfect writing partner it would seem. Both Vallance and Shippey handle all the guitar parts on the album, and no details are given as to who plays lead on any given song but at least one of these guys is an exceptional guitarist. Throughout the album some fantastic guitar is constantly weaving in and out, and especially on the title track the sounds produced are particularly outstanding. ‘South Circular’ is another track where the guitars shine. Not only will the catchy chorus be rattling around in your head for the rest of the day, you’ll be hearing that soaring guitar too. There is so much going on in this particular song yet still everything is so clear, so precise. Even for those who don’t usually rate guitar-driven pop there is little not to like on ‘Volcano’. Vallance has a knack of writing catchy tunes then fleshing them out with walls of guitars to create a feel-good album. Strangely the sun has broken through for the first time this year as ‘Volcano’ plays and it seems just so appropriate. Songs like ‘Dear Misfortune’ complete with handclaps that you just can’t resist joining in with are crying out to be played on beaches this summer. With those chiming guitars to the fore again and those warm, inviting vocals, it’s the perfect song for long, hot days. It’s not so often that albums come along that refuse to be easily grouped into any given genre and sound both familiar and fresh at the same time. Vallance, along with producer Mark Ephraim (Joan As Policewoman, New Pornographers) create so much texture and space on these songs as a listen to ‘Into the Forest Fire’ will prove. Each song is different from the one before while still retaining whatever it is that makes Vallance so unique. There are no highlights on ‘Volcano’; each and every one of these ten songs stands up on its own. Each and every one is a perfect example of classic guitar pop. There’s not much information about Ed Vallance about. Even his website is lacking in background details but with his second album he has created what will surely become one of the most played albums of 2012 by all those who have the fortune to discover it. There was a time you know, not so very long ago, when every song on ‘Volcano’ would have been pulled off as a single and heard blasted out of radios everywhere, and Ed Vallance would have been a major name in modern music. We can but hope that enough people get to hear ‘Volcano’ so that talents like Vallance get at least some of the recognition they so rightly deserve.

Track Listing:-

1 Crystalline
2 Seabird
3 Black and White Light
4 Cowboys and Indians
5 Volcano
6 South Circular
7 Dear Misfortune
8 Into the Forest Fire
9 Bookish
10 Famous Last Words