Back in the day, just after the earth’s crust cooled, America hit the charts with their first big single, “Horse With No Name,” and more than a few people mistakenly believed, at first blush, that it was something new from Neil Young. About a year later, Stealer’s Wheel had a similarly big hit with “Stuck in the Middle with You,” which was equally misinterpreted as a Bob Dylan song.
There is an element of that kind of sonic misdirection when listening to the engaging gems tossed off by Valentiger, a Folk Pop trio hailing from the wilds of Grand Rapids, Mich. Like the churning ingredients of a well-stocked gumbo on the boil, familiarity bubbles up to the surface of the band’s sound, on stage and on its excellent 2009 full-length debut, Power Lines to Electric Times, and just-released sophomore album, Oh, to Know! — bits of Guster and Neil Young, flecks of Barenaked Ladies and Clem Snide, juicy kernels of The Kinks and Wilco, meaty chunks of Pavement and Paul Westerberg.
Like a stained and time-tested family recipe that has evolved over the years, Valentiger’s sound has the sturdy melodic structure of ’60s Folk/Pop traditionalism while effortlessly weaving in the shambling swagger of contemporary Indie Rock, making them a rousing rival for the affection of fans of Fleet Foxes and their plundered-past peer group.
One thing that the guys in Valentiger (Brent Shirey, Eric Kehoe and Scott Rider) enjoy doing is making videos on their road jaunts, so if you see a couple of beardos and their clean-shaven buddy shooting sidewalk footage in Northside this week, do something quirky or outrageous or just introduce yourself — you could wind up in Valentiger’s next viral mini-epic.
Valentiger plays The Comet March 22 with guests Empty Threats.
This article appears in Mar 16-22, 2011.
