Jack Valero’s rising star vibes have been amplified in recent weeks. After signing a new deal with Modern Sky UK (Lottery Winners, Miles Kane), he enlisted his friend and labelmate, the acclaimed singer-songwriter Jamie Webster, to produce his upcoming EP Not In Kansas Anymore which follows on 6th September. The EP’s lead single Always Something You Can Do introduced a kaleidoscopic sound with soaring choruses and harmonies and was supported with tastemaker approval from BBC Introducing, Radio X, This Feeling and Amazing Radio. Valero’s slow and steady graft continues with the release of the new single Karaoke Dreams. Like Always Something You Can Do, Karaoke Dreams continues he forays into raucous rock gems with big crescendos.
Jack Valero
In a song that will surely become an attention-grabbing moment of his live set, Valero takes us from a simple acoustic guitar introduction and layers further flourishes of detail at every turn. In keeping with his affinity for kitchen sink drama story telling the story that the 30-year-old shares is a poetic observation on a couple who look as if they’re destined to be together – if only one of them has the courage to make the first move. Told primarily from a third-person perspective, it’s a narrative that he has lived through.
As Valero explains: “This song is very personal to me, it’s about being in love with someone who you’re pretty sure feels the same but neither of you will step forward and admit it. Being stuck in a place where you’re both kidding yourselves nothing’s there and you both know it, but it’s never said aloud. It’s all looks and gestures. You both want it to burst out, but it just can’t. You never know if what you’re waiting for is ever going to come and if you’re just being a fool… or at least not yet. This happened to me and I wrote this song after spending an amazing day with that person and feeling so sad when they left. It had a good ending though, ‘cos now we’re getting married.”
Jack Valero @ Glastonbury Festival 2023
Karaoke Dreams was written by Valero and produced by Jamie Webster with his regular collaborator Tim Cunningham and performed with the rest of the ‘scouse wrecking crew’ – Jim Sharrock (drums) and Danny Murphy (guitar). The video was filmed in Liverpool and directed by Joe Campbell from renowned local production house Culture City. Check out the video below:
Jack Valero and his band Theo Williams (drums), Jake Mason (guitar), Pedro Silva (bass) and Amie Shouler (vocals) recently played in Europe for the first time. The Amsterdam-based UK new music showcase London Calling picked their packed out set as the highlight of their 2024 event and they know what they’re looking for, having previously presented early shows from big names such as Wet Leg, Wolf Alice and Blur. Having also made a big impression on the Hope Not Hate tour, Valero and the band now get summer underway with big festival dates at Glastonbury, Isle of Wight and Sziget festivals.
Their upcoming UK shows are:
JUNE
22nd-23rd – Isle of Wight Festival
26th-30th – Glastonbury Festival
JULY
5th – Bolton, Right To Roam
7th – Blackpool, Bootleg Social (with Tom A. Smith)
17th – Bexhill-on-Sea, De La Warr Pavilion, JackoFest
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