Lovina Falls welcomes us back into her world with the enchanting ‘On Your Side’
Photo Credit: Joan Hathaway
Lovina Falls welcomes us back into her world with the enchanting ‘On Your Side’
The baroque indie-pop project of Valerie Forgione emerges into color with a striking Joan Hathaway-directed music video on Wednesday, July 19
OUT NOW: Watch the ‘On Your Side’ video on YouTube
Lovina Falls’ debut album ‘Calculating the Angle of Our Descent’ is out now
For Review Consideration: ‘Calculating the Angle of Our Descent’ private listen
BOSTON, Mass. [July 19, 2023] -- The baroque indie-pop world of Lovina Falls is one that’s awash in vibrant color. So it’s notable that at the exact midway point of the Boston project’s new music video for “On Your Side,” set to premiere on Wednesday, July 19, scenes of stark, desolate grayscale suddenly give way to a release of a kaleidoscopic brightness. It not only brings the single and visual to life, but also invites us into the enchanting landscape of songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Valerie Forgione.
The deliberate maneuver from video producer and director Joan Hathaway has a few meaningful layers to it, but perhaps none more notable than placing Forgione back into the colorful spotlight. The Boston music scene veteran, voice of ‘90s-era alt-rock luminaries Mistle Thrush, introduces us to Lovina Falls with a poignant invitation.
In May, Lovina Falls released its debut album, Calculating the Angle of Our Descent, and now it begins to unfurl each song’s chapter like independent plotlines to a larger album-compiled narrative. It commences with the video for album opener “On Your Side,” a spiritual seducer of a song that Forgione says is about conflict and resolution.
“Simply put, it's about making decisions,” Forgione says, “and believing in your own point of view, regardless whether or not it's the popular one.”
That mindset has led Forgione to this moment, re-emerging with Lovina Falls after several years away from the spotlight. Calculating the Angle of Our Descent was co-produced by Forgione with David Minehan and recorded at Woolly Mammoth Sound in Waltham, and across its 10 tracks, Forgione provides a creative core and overarching singular musical vision, one that dances freely across avenues of dream-pop, synth, indie, dark cabaret, and art-pop, all tied together by her mystical melodicism, introspective lyrics, and unmistakable alto singing voice.
“I love writing, recording, and performing music, and have spent most of my life doing so,” Forgione admits. “Since Mistle Thrush, I've been scoring for theater, independent film, and podcasts, and while it can be rewarding to work with the directors and actors to set the tone or mood for a scene, much of it is solitary work. I missed being able to connect with people directly. And I really missed singing. The experience is unmatchable.”
After launching a few projects in the years following Mistle Thrush, nothing really connected with Forgione on a personal level. She reached out to Minehan with a few ideas, and it quickly grew into what would become the debut Lovina Falls album, calling on a network of friends and co-conspirators – Brenden Cobb, Matt Klain, Marnie Hall, and Chuck Ferreira – to fulfill her creative vision.
“None of it was really planned,” Forgione says. “I didn't go into this with a pocket full of songs. I started with two line drawings and suddenly had a canvas and some paint. I've never been particularly good at planning where things go. I'm more of a ‘press record and see what happens’ kind of person. …I experimented a lot, too, to challenge myself and see if I could do it. I learned to play bass and write drum parts, and used a lot of instruments I haven't played before, like the accordion and autoharp. I just knew I wanted to blend both natural and electronic sounds. It was art, science, math, a bit of alchemy… and allowing things to land where they may.”
With “On Your Side,” in particular, Forgione’s efforts on vocals, harpsichord, keys, Moog, strings, drums, and rhythms are rounded out by former Mistle Thrush bandmate Matt Klain on bass and Marnie Hall on violin. The end result was the perfect introduction to not just Calculating the Angle of Our Descent, but Lovina Falls in general. The video – where Forgione and Hathaway discussed a concept of being conflicted and the freedom one feels when a decision is reached – plays into this notion of one long journey, and the process that shapes us along the way.
“To me, creating music is a lot about opportunity and instinct,” she adds. “I found this old drum machine and thought it would be fun to use it in a song. I wrote the vocals and keys, but felt it needed a bit more movement to counter and ground the rhythm, so I asked Matt if he would add some bass and Marnie for violin. Then I added a lot of unconventional percussion, hitting all sorts of things – bits of wood and metal, the mic stand, the floor, other instruments, furniture, etc.; it was hilarious – but it really helped to achieve the sound I was looking for. David at Woolly Mammoth Sound is just amazing to work with. He is very encouraging and has a great sense of humor.”
With Calculating the Angle of Our Descent now streaming on all major platforms, and a short run of vinyl available for those who wish to own a physical copy of the album, Forgione hopes her forthcoming music videos act as a draw to bring the audience closer, each as a gateway to a larger, more intimate and overarching piece of art.
“I hope listeners will listen to the album as a whole,” she concludes. “My experience composing music as part of the narrative has helped me to appreciate a story from start to end, and how scenes transition from one to the next. This album was written in a similar way, and ideally heard like a soundtrack, but without a specific story. I don't feel it's necessarily my place to tell anyone what to think, feel, or imagine. I'd like them to craft the story themselves.”
And they too, may have a moment when suddenly everything shifts to color once again.
***
‘Calculating the Angle of Our Descent’ album artwork:
Design credit: Valerie Forgione
***
Lovina Falls artist bio:
Welcome to Lovina Falls, the latest musical project from veteran indie singer/songwriter Valerie Forgione. Valerie first made her name as the lead singer of Mistle Thrush, a band whose combination of indie rock drive, dreamy textures, and sparkling pop song craft made them a beloved fixture in their native Boston and beyond throughout the late 1990s and into the 2000s. Through their existence, Mistle Thrush shared stages with such luminaries as The Strokes, Spiritualized, Sonic Youth, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Lush, and Slowdive; won numerous Boston-area music accolades; were featured in Billboard Magazine, charted on the CMJ charts; and saw their music on TV show soundtracks. Steve Morse of The Boston Globe wrote that Valerie has “some of the most versatile pipes since the dream-pop heyday of Kate Bush.”
In the present day, Valerie has released her first solo album, Calculating the Angle of Our Descent. All songs are written, arranged, and produced by Valerie, as she accompanies her distinctive voice with piano, analog synths, guitar, bass, organ, and drums. From the harpsichord-driven “On Your Side” to the harmony-laden baroque-pop of “Back of My Heart” to the percolating synths and ‘90s-style alt rock of “Vaulted”, Lovina Falls is truly the work of a singular musical vision. Valerie’s intimate and instantly familiar alto will make Lovina Falls welcome to fans of her previous work, while her new sonic and songwriting explorations will endear her to fans of such contemporary indie voices as Fiona Apple, Bat for Lashes, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sharon Van Etten, and Angel Olsen.
Welcome to Lovina Falls.
***
‘Calculating the Angle of Our Descent’ Production Credits:
All songs written, arranged, and co-produced by Valerie Forgione
Produced by Lovina Falls and David Minehan at Woolly Mammoth
Special thanks to the following musicians who added magic dust when needed: Brenden Cobb, Matt Klain, Marnie Hall, Chuck Ferreira, Scott Patalano, Todd Demma, and David Minehan
Appearing on ‘On Your Side’:
Valerie Forgione: Vocals, harpsichord, keys, moog, strings, drums, rhythms
Matt Klain: Bass
Marnie Hall: Violin
“On Your Side” music video produced and directed by Joan Hathaway
***
‘On Your Side’ Lyric Sheet:
when the time is right, on which side am I?
I’ll take my horse and ride to the place where I
stand at the edge and look off the side
kick at the dirt and I watch it slide
graceless, I wonder if I can fly
ask of the silence, who am I?
on your side is a broken road
and should I follow you, or should I make my own?
start at the center move to the core
reach for the handle open the door
off to the water off to the shore
take from my heart, I have more
if I follow
(if I follow)
off to face the other side
(if I don’t)
did I follow
instinct to the left or right
(did the reasons)
how I follow
into day and off to night
(they don’t ever)
how I follow
(comfort me)
when the feelings right, I am bathed in gold
and I’ll take this flight, I am feeling bold
since I follow
(if I follow)
off to face the other side
(if I don’t)
did I follow
instinct to the left or right
(did the reasons)
how I follow
into day and off to night
(they don’t ever)
how I follow
(comfort me)
***
HOMEPAGE . SPOTIFY . BANDCAMP . INSTAGRAM . FACEBOOK . YOUTUBE . LINKTREE
