Hello reader,
How are you today?
Today, we’re excited to shed light on another artist we think you’ll dig – Milwaukee, Wisconsin based rock band VLNTYN. Led by singer-songwriter and rhythm guitarist Jorge Vallentine, the current live version of the group also features lead guitarist Eric Le Mieux, bassist Ryan Schmidt and drummer Ben Dahms.
Last February, Vallentine released Grace, For Those Who Need It, a four-song EP released as Jorge Vallentine & The Honest Love that chronicled the breakdown of a difficult relationship he’d be in for a dozen years. He followed that up with a standalone single, “God In Everything,” where he reflected on his self-doubt and finding the courage to love someone again. He began embracing the dark themes and sounds that he’d been toying with for years but hadn’t formally shared.
Enter VLNTYN, a band he self-describes as “dark indie rock.” Making their live debut last year, the quartet has slowly released new singles. On January 28, they released their single, “Swimming In The Sun.” We’re excited to share the studio-recorded version of the song below well as a solo version created by Vallentine for our Water Tower Sessions series.
If you like bands such as Pixies, Brand New, and Elliott Smith and a “dark indie rock atmosphere,” we think the group will be up your alley. In the press release for the single, Vallentine says the guitar-driven single is like “Elliott Smith singing Pixies’ ‘Where is My Mind?’, with Jack White-influenced, screaming lead guitar solos adding to the chaos. The song carries an undercurrent of dread, of knowing something’s wrong but not quite being able to pinpoint it.”
That’s evident in the lyrics below:
I’m just a stranger, born to get lost
Born to cross bridges no one else would dare to cross
I am seeking, I am seeking light
Nowhere I lay down to sleep ever feels quite right
Vallentine wrote the lyrics for the song several years ago while dealing with the aforementioned challenging relationship that felt toxic. Upon revisiting it later, he realized how much of a cry for help it was.
“The song’s message, though somewhat cryptic, is ultimately about escaping the things that hurt or no longer serve us and fighting our way towards something better,” he says via press release. “This was inspired by a difficult long-term relationship that eventually led to the very escape the song calls for.”
In the first few minutes of the song, he sounds like someone stubbornly trying and hoping to find a solution, and he knows it is an obvious pipedream. Vallentine provides brooding vocals that complement his bandmates’ playing. The song features a slightly different trio configuration. Matt Froelich plays lead guitar on the song, and his understated guitar work builds to occasional solo eruptions. Ryan Schmidt played bass and drums and added to the song’s dynamic sound.
As the sinister-sounding song climaxes to an end, Vallentine offers a final lyrical line that provides a glimmer of hope for the future: “Come and find me swimming in the sun.”
Joshua is co-founder of Scummy Water Tower. He’s freelanced for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including: Rolling Stone, The Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Guitar World, MTV News, Grammy.com, Chicago Magazine, Milwaukee Magazine, MKE Lifestyle, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, A.V. Club, SPIN, Alternative Press, Under the Radar, Paste, PopMatters, American Songwriter, and Relix. You can email him at josh@scummywatertower.com.
