Something about this track just grabbed me immediately, “Sad Girl” by Valley Boy has something indescribably special.
The final single for their newest EP, dropping the same day, “Sad Girl” is a slow-burning indietronica bedroom track. I love the very vintage aura this song gives off. The production is so delicate and detailed and truly allows the vocals to shine and stand out. I’m in awe. Retro melodies and harmonies sweeten the heavy lyrics, which songwriter James laments is about "experiencing an intense emotional whiplash."
"This song began after receiving my second 'we should never talk again' text from someone I had started seeing," he explains. " Change can be scary, and I think she and I were both very aware that we would be taking a big step were we to begin dating. That would mean saying goodbye to the safety of the known, even if what we both knew was isolation, disappointment, and a pessimist’s view of life and love. The devil you know vs. the devil you don’t, right?"
On the music video: In every Valley Boy track, James and Ian explore the toll different vices can have— in "Sad Girl" we see James and his now-fiancé entangled in an alcohol-fueled night and its role in turning a seemingly romantic night into one engulfed by sadness. "Brittany (the inspiration of 'Sad Girl' and my now-fiance) and I reenacted a version of one of our first dates gone wrong for the video. Our director, Zach Johnston, had the idea to create the device of the iPhone sextape as the vehicle through which we can watch the night unfold, and though it’s surely a piece that might make our parents/siblings uncomfortable to watch, it feels very honest to me," James shares.
Valley Boy's James and Ian met in their middle school P.E. class when Ian was taken aback by James' wild locks and a friendship immediately followed. They became best friends after connecting over classic rock, guitar solos, and divorced parents and spent the rest of their school years playing music together in James’ mom’s garage. After high school, both James and Ian went on to work professionally in the music space - James as a songwriter for several years (signed with Max Martin, Savan Kotecha), and Ian as a session and touring drummer.
"After spending so many years writing and performing for/with other people, the music we’re making as Valley Boy is the cathartic release of just doing what we want for ourselves," Ian explains. The duo made their way back to each other, leaving the valley for a place in Silverlake. It wasn't until a casual night of ad-libbing on the piano at a party that the duo realized their potential as a band and Valley Boy was born.
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