Valley

Apple Music’s Up Next artist for Canada, Valley came about accidentally—a 2014 double-booking at a recording studio led to members of the affected bands, Cars & Guitars and National Parks, realising that they were musical soulmates. They gelled quickly as an indie-pop outfit after that scheduling mishap, releasing a debut EP, Car Test, the next year. Its 2016 follow-up, This Room Is White, further showcased their happy-sad vibe, with the twin vocals of frontman Rob Laska and drummer/singer Karah James adding emotional heft to the band’s massive hooks. Their first full-length, MAYBE, which came out in 2019, hit big with the glittery “There’s Still a Light In the House”, and Valley scored a 2020 Juno Award nomination for Breakthrough Group of the Year. After 2020’s sucks to see you doing better, which featured the pulsing “nevermind” and the simmering “hiccup”, Valley released Last Birthday, led by the playful “Oh shit...are we in love?”, in the fall of 2021.