Local Valley

Hello, back again for another music review/post in this Blogtober. Today I will be talking about one of my favourite albums of 2021, and also one of the most anticipated albums of 2021 for me! 

It's none other than Jose Gonzales' Local Valley. When Jose released El Invento back in February, his return was really something... Comforting? I'm not sure what to call it, but yeah it's been quite long since he released new music so it was kind of a respite to have him back.

I discovered Jose back in 2014 after watching Walter Mitty. His song "Step Out" actually soundtracked my trip to Iceland in the same year. I went to listen to the rest of his discography and really fell in love with his music! So this album is truly something I was anticipating a lot in 2021.

The singles from the album have been incredible and I just couldn't wait for the album to arrive. To me this is such a beautiful album. I was a bit puzzled and intrigued to why he named the album "Local Valley". But after listening to his explanations in an KEXP interview, how Local Valley refers to earth, this place in the universe. And the title track of the song refers to two tribes not being able to talk with each other, and not being able to see other tribes nearby living in harmony.

I feel this whole theme is so familiar in today's world. The pandemic has really divides us into "two tribes". Anti vaxxer vs vaccinated people. Conspiracy theorist (and basically people who spread hoaxes) and people who believe in science. There's this whole divided conversation between these two groups but the ignorance from the other group really shadows these whole groups.

Personally I love this album because it arrives at the right time. These whole 1.5 (soon 2) years of pandemic have really made me contemplate a lot. Contemplate a lot about life, and this whole mystery that we're living in. And I think this album really provides that platform for us to contemplate. 

The first single El Invento is still my favourite form the album. The chorus speaks a lot about what I'm feeling above. The lyric of the chorus is translated as "Tell me why is it so, tell me where you're going, tell my where we're from, tell me why is it so, and tell me why". 

These are the same questions I've been asking myself in this pandemic. I feel like as we went through the pandemic, I asked myself how did we land ourselves in this position. Why are we here, on this planet. Why and how do we allow this to happen and take over our lives. These are the questions I've been asking myself and I still haven't found the answers to them. So yeah.

And his song "Visions"? Wow that is truly a masterpiece that talks about the whole pandemic!

So yeah personally this is such a wonderful album for humanity. For all of us, to contemplate on what has been going on for the past 1.5 years. And personally it's truly a beautiful album to really accompany us. Although I'm probably gonna be reminded of the whole pandemic when I listen to this album in the future hahaha. But that's music for me. It's a time machine that brings me to a certain point in time.

Alright that's all from me now. It's Saturday and I feel more free. I have time to write more stuff haha. Maybe I should do a music review every Saturday. We'll see how it goes. See you soon!