Album Review: High Valley, Way Back

Canadian country/bluegrass band High Valley have generally had a consistent string of highs while encountering few creative and commercial valleys. And with their ninth studio effort lead singer Brad Rempel and his cohorts (now without Brad's brother Curtis who amicably parted the band last year) have achieved the rare feat of making bluegrass-tinged country extremely easy on the ears.

Brevity is an asset with the band as with most tunes clocking under three minutes there is no filler. The opening title track is finely tuned with a roots-y chorus enhanced by some fine acoustic and electric picking. From there the band up the ante with the delectable, deliberate "Run Outta Somedays" and the equally solid "Prayin' Woman."

In the band's bio, Rempel described Way Back as "a soundtrack for all the best moments people have with their family." Upbeat and uplifting, tracks like the infectious "Do This Life" soar immediately. Meanwhile the mid-tempo "World Could Use A Dirt Road" checks all the boxes for future single.

Speaking of future singles, most of the material easily merits that, particularly the crunchy, rockier "All My Lovin'" and softer "Remember You Now." In short High Valley are back in a very big way!

Way Back was released May 20, 2022.
Listen to it here: https://orcd.co/hvwayback