Boston Rock Group Valleyheart Share Reality-Bending Single “T.I.K.”
A new year brings a new sound for Boston four-piece Valleyheart, who’ve shared their new single ‘T.I.K.’ An acronym for Thoughts I Keep, the punchy track and accompanying music video dives into complex behaviours of the psyche. Awarded “Rock Artist of the Year” at the Boston Music Awards, Valleyheart formed in 2016, led by frontman Kevin Klein. Originally formed with the idea of reimagining Klein’s folk songs into rock statement pieces, the band released an EP, Nowadays, in 2017 followed by 2018’s LP, Everyone I’ve Ever Loved.
Their latest release falls somewhere between indie and alternative rock, driven by electric guitar, wistful melodies and lyrics that see Klein exploring his own mind, contemplating how emotions and thoughts interact, and the paradoxical behaviours that they cause. Klein shares, “I wanted those tensions and weight paralleled in the instrumentation.” Rounded out by clashing percussion, ‘T.I.K’ has a rambunctiousness to it that perfectly matches the mixed emotions in the lyrics – something the video highlights even further.
A microwave timer opens and closes the video, bursting with confusing imagery and behaviours to highlight the angst and turmoil of the lyrics. The main character – a man with an impressive moustache – is seen cutting sponges, making a sandwich with a detergent pod and settling a Fila shoe on fire on the beach. Flashing between these odd behaviours in an almost nonsensical, blurry way, the video leaves you a bit unsettled in the best way and really does complement the internal battles of the mind and the war between emotion and rationale quite well.
You can watch the video below (note: flash warning)
