A Queen’s Quest
It seems to be a free-for-all these days when it comes to genre revisiting. From goth, to disco, to synth pop, several different movements from the 20th century are having their moments in the millennial sun. What, then, about grunge? An oft-mentioned, but not oft recreated moment from the ’90s with more of a wide influence than one would initially expect. When one listens to several of the Valley Queen tracks on their newest Supergiant album, the Courtney Love revisions that are bound to make their way to the mainstream are granted hope.
The term “Valley Queen” can really only refer to one pop culture Valley, and that is the one in LA county. The land of mall-rats and suburban sprawl provide more than enough of the backstory when listening to the “Silver Tongue” and “Supergiant.” The distorted guitar fuzz that opens the album is enough to feel a warm invitation back to a familiar alternative feel amongst a sea of synths available today. The star of both songs, though, is singer Natalie Carol’s towering vocals. An important element of the grunge vibe is a highly expressive leading voice, and Carol has that in spades. All the hooks on “Supergiant” hit the bulls-eye, despite their very familiar alternative sound due very much in part to Cole’s pure excitement and momentum she grants the song.
It’s during “Chasing The Muse” that another grunge box is checked, and that is a slight country dye job to the punk bleach. Seriously, listen to Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains; many important grunge bands never shied away from a twangy down-home feel to get their working-class backgrounds conveyed. That’s where “Chasing the Muse” comes in, with maybe not as much of the mentioned momentum to it, but the intent is more than noted. This song marks a slight dip in the energy that delivers a different way of looking at the album’s wild child nature. Any doubts about this nature? Just listen to the lyrics on “Ride.” Cookout strumming chords are met with lyrics like, “Cause I create, and I destroy /And it’s not wrong, but it’s not right /I hope you meet me on the other side, but you gotta let me ride.” Even if the songs give off the more stagnant, terminally chill vibe of the Valley summers, Valley Queen still maintains that youthful need for adventure.
Even more of this contrast comes with “Bedroom,” which is an energetic drum-driven track in the vein of the first two songs, but with much more sensitive lyrics that also reference the need to simply laze in bed and wallow. Does it conflict with the last message about needing to get out and ride? Welcome to youth. An interesting addition here, though, is the references to the fear of moral degradation in Hollywood. A relatable, but not often discussed topic in music, it gives a really interesting new layer onto why Valley Queen feels the need to ride. Listening to Natalie Carol pine for something better, even if she’s not 100% sure what that is, gives off a true 2010s young person struggle for authenticity and love. Makes perfect sense then, that the next song is called “Two of Cups,” which is a reference to the two of cups tarot card.
Tarot is gaining traction as a young activity, which adds to Valley Queens’ cred, but also contributes to the narrative. The two of cups card shows two individuals toasting, representing connection and attraction, both romantically and platonically. Searching to fulfill this need is a very important topic right now, and when Cole sings about heading to San Francisco on the closer “Highway Pearls” scored by melancholy alt guitar, she conveys the journey that may are going through right now to venture into the great unknown in search of that very kind of connection. Best of luck to the queens!
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