When words are overrated.

El Ten Eleven, LA’s prolific post-rock duo, has once again enmeshed music and art, cultivating what their label, Joyful Noise, portrays as “merging personal anecdotes with the larger ecosystem of the sound.” 

Their latest album, Valley of Fire, unfurls slowly and tentatively. The opening track “New Year’s Day” sets the proverbial stage for what can only be described as a book without words, emotional chords walking the listener through thought-provoking instrumentals. The song enraptures and scintillates, hooking the listener from its inception. It is, in many ways, the album’s forward— there simply is no choice but to continue listening, because the story has just begun. “New Year’s Day” depicts a dream-like quality, with what appears to be a cello making a brief appearance. However, El Ten Eleven is known for their use of effects pedals, so the sound in question could simply be their ingenuity at play, reimagining one of their existing instruments. 

“Volsens” introduces a more lively pace, the way a story would build towards its eventual climax. El Ten Eleven effortlessly masters its craft; every note, every chord is intentionally and thoughtfully placed. The result is a seamless integration of sound and emotion. 

As the album drifts from track to track, “White Domes” offers a more mellow, muted component. It serves as the calm before the storm, with broody yet provocative undertones peppered throughout. The latter half encompasses a more uplifting, free-spirited ethos, serving as the story’s climax. 

The album’s penultimate track, “Days of Our Lives”, rounds out the album; it provides a sanguine, whimsical overture that transports the listener to a tropical paradise replete with lazy days and endless sunshine. 

The album’s cessation lies within the title track, and “Valley of Fire” conjures up a poignant set of instrumentals that convey the meaningful conclusion to yet another superlative album. Listeners, just as readers, are left wondering what comes next. But with El Ten Eleven at the helm, subsequent journeys are bound to be equally compelling.