Vallens have shared their debut album ‘Consent,’ which will be out June 24 via Hand Drawn Dracula. Take a listen to the stream of the album via Soundcloud below.
The songs on ‘Consent’ are quite dark and discuss important issues to songwriter Robyn Phillips, such as the title track of the album Consent. The song is about various issues around consent, consent to have a stranger talk to you, no means no, why women have to do something triply better than a man to be considered, and the ever underlying sense that women only do things for the attention of men.
Robyn Phillips created Vallens in late 2014 to serve as her performance alter ego, secretly constructing her own world of music alone while playing guitar and gigging in various Toronto projects. The Vallens moniker allowed Robyn to introduce her own sound within the scene under the influence of namesake, David Lynch’s Dorothy Vallens.
Conjuring the likes of Rowland S. Howard, Wire, Angelo Badalamenti and Portishead; Vallens has been living deep in the construction of her first record Consent (Due June 24th, 2016 on Hand Drawn Dracula). The album was recorded and produced by Josh Korody (Beliefs, Nailbiter) at Candle Recording in Toronto, as well as with Jeff Berner (Psychic TV) at Galumium Foil in Brooklyn, NY. The themes on Consent evoke the tension and stratosphere of Robyn’s early years and what it means to be female in our society.
In the past year Vallens has expanded to a full band (Colin Morgan – drums, Marta Cikojevic – synth & keyboards and Devon Henderson – bass) who have shaped and influenced Robyn’s further writing. The project debuted live in 2015 and quickly captured the attention of music critics, promoters, and the local music scene. Vallens has since been invited to perform at NXNE, POP Montreal, M for Montreal, and CMJ, as well they’ve shared the stage with Frankie Cosmos, Freak Heat Waves, Porches, MOURN, Ringo Deathstarr, U.S Girls, A Place to Bury Strangers, Speedy Ortiz, Dilly Dally and La Luz.
Track listing:
1. While You Wait
2. Drag
3. Consent
4. Rosemary
5. Devour
6. Karen
7. Dark Tunnel
8. Tennesse Haze
9. Sin So Vain
10. Still Need Dreams
Pre-order ‘Consent’ here: handdrawndracula.bandcamp.com/album/consent.
Tour dates:
July 09 – Smiling Buddha, Toronto ON (Consent Record Release)*
August 17 – Bar Rosa, Ottawa ON (Arboretum Festival)
*w/ Casper Skulls, Yi (debut show Jesse Crowe / Beliefs and Jordan Allen / Rolemodel)
For more information on Vallens, visit handdrawndracula.com/artists/vallens/
