Jack Valero has dropped his new EP Not In Kansas Anymore, which features the new song and focus track Innocent Light. The build-up towards its release has been full of big moments, with its previous tracks earning the support of John Kennedy on Radio X, BBC 6 Music’s Chris Hawkins and a recent live session for Dave Monks at BBC Introducing Merseyside alongside shows with the EP’s co-producer Jamie Webster as well as The Clause, Jack Jones, Lottery Winners, Tom A. Smith and Mick Head.
Jack Valero @ Glastonbury Festival 2023
As the Not In Kansas Anymore title suggests, this EP takes Valero well out of his comfort zone to create his most engaging and accomplished project to date. The recording process was completely different, this time working in Liverpool with Jamie Webster (who also contributes backing vocals) and co-producer Tim Cunningham. Stylistically it’s another evolution, capturing the energy of the musician’s live band and blurring the lines between modern indie and timeless folk rock, while his vocal harmonies and duets with Amie Shouler are elevated to the forefront of the sound. And it also represents his first full release for Modern Sky UK, who have achieved significant chart success with The Lottery Winners and Red Rum Club.
What hasn’t changed, however, is Valero’s flair for evocative lyricism. As we’ve come to expect, the Not In Kansas Anymore EP is rich with stories, characters and emotions which light a candle on those formative moments in life that are hard to articulate – often infused with flashes of poignancy and sharp-witted humour. Listen to the new EP here.
That poetic touch is particularly vibrant in the new single Innocent Light. Opening as a tender, reflective rumination of a relationship that unravels, the song suddenly, dramatically ruptures into a ragged wall of psych-rock dynamics. But the music leaps from calmness to chaos, it unlocks a wealth of cathartic emotions – mirroring how its characters can see the value of what they’ve learned after the initial heartbreak subsides.
Valero says: “For Innocent Light I went to my favourite trope of narrating a scene of two characters. It’s a break up song, but I feel it does go deeper than that. These two characters know that this isn’t working, but they don’t know why.
It comes from the perspective of two people who are neither of them the bad one, just young and naive. They both have their own take on the situation, but have ultimately misunderstood each other and have more to learn. Being young they are also ignorant to their own naivety and so both feel adamant in their feelings and do not yet possess the knowledge that only comes from experience to see the bigger picture and so break away from each other. It’s about the intensity of youth and the lessons learnt. They may never see each other again, but they will remember the mistakes they made for next time. No one’s to blame, it’s just life.”
Not In Kansas Anymore positions Jack Valero as an artist with an increasingly bright future. His sound has grown in stature over the course of his previous projects, the video trilogy Form Over Function and the EP This Is A Nightmare. The contributions of his live band – Amie Shouler (vocals), Erik Litstrom (guitar), Maxine Cahill (bass) and Theo Williams-Burchell (drums) – have also become a key element of his artist identity. Together they’ve played numerous major festivals, including Glastonbury, the Isle of Wight, SXSW, Kendal Calling, Sziget in Hungary and Amsterdam’s London Calling. They also opened Billy Bragg’s Hope Not Hate tour. Expect news of their touring plans for 2025 to be confirmed soon.
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