Today’s song can be found on the new album Glass and Keys by the UK synth-pop group Grand Valise. Founding members Andy Miles and Becky Pickin (who share vocal duties on “My Midland Heart”) describe themselves as “a librarian and an ex-historian” who sought to create a sonic document of their UK homeland, a region west of Birmingham long known as the Black Country due to its high amounts of air pollution during the Industrial Revolution. The song was a good, upbeat listen on this Friday morning, and while I was making scrambled eggs for breakfast I found myself beating yolks to the drumbeat, which says something about the song’s infectious nature. Sugary synthesizers abound, adding the slight amount of cheesiness and 80’s nostalgia necessary for any good track of this genre. Think The Killers, Neon Trees, Passion Pit, etc. “My Midland Heart” is elevated by Miles’ and Pickin’s strong harmonies and by the obvious affection for the Black Country that shines through in their lyrics; the hook is both melancholy and hopeful as it ponders the future of their homeland: “What will remain, my friend/When the colors fade away?”
Listen to more of Grand Valise’s music: https://grandevalise.bandcamp.com/
