Minneapolis, Minnesota synthpop group Graveyard Club have returned with their new track “Valens,” their first new song since the release of their album Goodnight Paradise.
“Valens” soars high with an upbeat dazzling synth-pop sound that feels bright-minded and hopeful, something we can certainly welcome right about now. It chugs along with a polished shine to it that packs a lot of punch with a big chorus that sneaks up on you.
Graveyard Club’s Matthew Schufman provides some insight about the song below:
As a child I loved early rock and roll music. My parents played it frequently around the house. One of my favorite songs was “Donna” by Ritchie Valens. There was a sweet sadness to it; you could hear and feel the longing in his voice. I still recall when someone first told me about “The Day the Music Died” and how tragic and eerie the story was. The horror of the plane wreck somehow was made worse to me by the location: a frozen field in the upper Midwest.
Through the years, I have thought about the event often, especially around the anniversary as winter draws on and everything is still frozen here. It influenced the words and feeling of ‘Valens”- the cold, the isolation, the “twist of fate”, the loss of control. Although the subject matter is dark and foreboding, the band and I intentionally tried to make the song driving and up-tempo. A good deal of our last LP “Goodnight Paradise” leaned into the slower, sadder side of things and with this song we were all interested in trying to push away from that.
Enjoy a listen to “Valens” below.
Join the conversation