Mundy's Bay
Lonesome Valley

It is dream pop or shoegaze when Canadian band Mundy’s Bay present their debut album Lonesome Valley, I also read post-punk in some of the many positive reviews I have read about this album. Many have positive things to say about vocalist Esther Mulders and I can only echo such statements, she is perfect for this album. The graphic profile is less than perfect though, I think that this cover will fail to make anyone interested. The music is a different story, it will create many fans for Mundy’s Bay as it is a great album.

It is a rather uplifting collection of songs that has a dreamy atmosphere with a feeling of standing by a window looking far away and dreaming of other places and situations. Something that should be fairly fitting these days with quarantines or other restrictions in movement and things like that. The songs are pretty simple in structure but with strong emotional resonance and it is good variation through the eleven tracks that also show a sensible playing time. The vocal delivery is the strongest part, Esther really draws the listener into the songs, but she is also helped by the great sound and atmospheres that put together makes this a really impressive debut.

The songs are all very good, they open with Goodbye that is one of my favourite songs on the album – it is a funny title to open up an album, but it is a fresh album overall so why not? I also think that the ending song J’ai tout perdu is a song that is worth mentioning, but all of them are really strong and there is plenty of hit potential here. Unlike many albums I review this invites me to come and listen, most albums I have to force myself to listen to but this one is really interesting and that makes it a good choice. And unlike most albums I review that I just throw away, I will keep this one in the music library and probably return to it many times more.

Lonesome Valley is a dreamy album that is well worth checking out, I don’t think it has any weaknesses and it is really great. I have really enjoyed listening to it many times over, many times more than I listen to most albums I review, and I can tell you that it stands up really well to repeated listening for an extended period of time. I think you will enjoy this debut that I hope is the promise of more greatness to come. Don’t miss it!

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