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About this concert
Big League hit The Riverview for the first time this December with Brisbane mates The Valery Trails, for an evening of catchy, noisy, perfection. They will be joined on the night by a solo set from Tim Steward (Screamfeeder)Free entryBig League have been serving as one of the finest purveyors of indie-rock on the scene these last few years. Created over loungeroom recordings by husband & wife team Travis & Marie, the endearing quartet have fast found a name for themselves not just at home, but abroad as well.2022 was the band's busiest year, with tours at home and in the USA. The band's second visit to the USA had them playing to packed rooms while enjoying regular airplay on college radio, ending with their second album A Symbol Like A Cloud appearing on the yearly Top 100 lists of several stations. 2023 has seen them back in the studio, recording album number 3 (due for release early 2024), and playing gigs that have showcased the band at the top of their game with a fresh batch of songsWith their male/female vocals, Big League present uplifting alternative pop-laced guitar rock that is sure to warm the hearts of even the most jaded music fan. Through their distinctive language of distorted melodies, Big League spin tales that celebrate the often unappreciated details of suburban Australia."...as if Martin Phillipps from The Chills jammed with Velvet Underground in the midst of an earthquake."Backseat MafiaWith 4 albums under the belt, and new tunes on the way, Brissie indie rockers The Valery Trails are bringing plenty down south this December.After almost a decade of operation as a transcontinental project, with members separated by an ocean, guitarist/vocalist Andrew Bower returned from Houston, Texas to his hometown of Brisbane Australia in 2020, joining his brother Sean Bower (bass) and Dan McNaulty (drums).Their latest release The Sky is Blue, was warmly received on both sides of the Pacific, charting on US specialty and college radio and with strong support from Australian community radio.“Their new album finds that carefully carved out niche where the jangle of their fellow Aussies the Go-Betweens is married to the loud psychedelicized attack of a great late ’80s power trio. There’s passion and purpose in these songs that should be celebrated and analyzed by younger musicians. Do your homework, kids, and give this a spin."Robert Ham, Paste Magazine
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The Valery Trails Biography
Andrew Bower (vocals/guitars), an expatriate Australian then living in Houston, enlisted his brother Sean Bower (bass) and Dan McNaulty (drums) in his hometown of Brisbane, Australia to form The Valery Trails in 2011. With the assistance of the internet and some intercontinental travel, the trio developed a set of songs started in Andrew's home studio into The Valery Trails' debut album Ghosts and Gravity, released in February 2012.
"If you're looking to make your road movie about wide-open spaces and foolish choices coming back to haunt you, [Ghosts and Gravity] just might be your soundtrack." - David Maine, PopMatters
In July 2013, after some online exchanges of tracks and ideas, The Valery Trails reconvened in Brisbane to record their second album, this time with the luxury of a full week in the studio together. The album was mixed in Brooklyn with Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Sebadoh, Spacehog).
“This sophomore album hits it out of the ballpark with its firm grasp of neatly chugging rock that bristles with a wealth of tasty hooks and sparkling harmony...This is the type of music that lifts one’s spirits in the most direct and immediate way possible: There’s a straight-on honest sincerity at work that’s impossible not to be moved by.” - Joe Wawrzyniak, Jersey Beat
For album number three, the band reverted to the technologically-enabled collaborative approach of the first album with recording sessions in Brisbane and Houston coming together to create a collection of songs that explores the different elements of The Valery Trails’ sound, from the power-pop hooks of “OK” through the layered guitars of “Cordless” and “Fall Around”, with excursions into Americana (“Doesn’t Have to Live There”) and the title track “Chameleon Bones” delving further into left field.
"These guys aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel; they’re trying to do something even harder. They’re showing us what can happen when you mix a concrete respect for certain musical lineages with a brazen disregard for modern convention." - Joshua Pickard, Nooga.com
Tracks from the three albums have received airplay and charted on US and Canadian specialty and college radio, as well as community radio in the US, Australia and Europe. Internet radio has been particularly supportive, with lengthy periods of rotation play.
Songs by The Valery Trails have appeared on PBS’ “Roadtrip Nation” and MTV’s “Teen Mom 2”, as well as being featured in online videos for the Dew Tour extreme sport online videos.
With band members formerly separated by the Pacific Ocean, live shows by the Valery Trails have been understandably rare (and celebratory) events. In 2015 the band made their live debut via a mini tour in Brisbane, Australia and in 2018 The Valery Trails made their U.S. debut with shows in Texas (Houston and Austin).
In 2020 Andrew moved back to Brisbane following an extended period of travel that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The band are now figuring out how to function in a more conventional manner where all the members live in the same city.
With multiple releases scheduled for 2022, including a long-delayed fourth album, the Valery Trails continue to work at their own pace, building a body of work on their own terms.
Read More"If you're looking to make your road movie about wide-open spaces and foolish choices coming back to haunt you, [Ghosts and Gravity] just might be your soundtrack." - David Maine, PopMatters
In July 2013, after some online exchanges of tracks and ideas, The Valery Trails reconvened in Brisbane to record their second album, this time with the luxury of a full week in the studio together. The album was mixed in Brooklyn with Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Sebadoh, Spacehog).
“This sophomore album hits it out of the ballpark with its firm grasp of neatly chugging rock that bristles with a wealth of tasty hooks and sparkling harmony...This is the type of music that lifts one’s spirits in the most direct and immediate way possible: There’s a straight-on honest sincerity at work that’s impossible not to be moved by.” - Joe Wawrzyniak, Jersey Beat
For album number three, the band reverted to the technologically-enabled collaborative approach of the first album with recording sessions in Brisbane and Houston coming together to create a collection of songs that explores the different elements of The Valery Trails’ sound, from the power-pop hooks of “OK” through the layered guitars of “Cordless” and “Fall Around”, with excursions into Americana (“Doesn’t Have to Live There”) and the title track “Chameleon Bones” delving further into left field.
"These guys aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel; they’re trying to do something even harder. They’re showing us what can happen when you mix a concrete respect for certain musical lineages with a brazen disregard for modern convention." - Joshua Pickard, Nooga.com
Tracks from the three albums have received airplay and charted on US and Canadian specialty and college radio, as well as community radio in the US, Australia and Europe. Internet radio has been particularly supportive, with lengthy periods of rotation play.
Songs by The Valery Trails have appeared on PBS’ “Roadtrip Nation” and MTV’s “Teen Mom 2”, as well as being featured in online videos for the Dew Tour extreme sport online videos.
With band members formerly separated by the Pacific Ocean, live shows by the Valery Trails have been understandably rare (and celebratory) events. In 2015 the band made their live debut via a mini tour in Brisbane, Australia and in 2018 The Valery Trails made their U.S. debut with shows in Texas (Houston and Austin).
In 2020 Andrew moved back to Brisbane following an extended period of travel that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The band are now figuring out how to function in a more conventional manner where all the members live in the same city.
With multiple releases scheduled for 2022, including a long-delayed fourth album, the Valery Trails continue to work at their own pace, building a body of work on their own terms.
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