Local Valley

Local Valley
Studio album by
José González
Released17 September 2021 (2021-09-17)
Studio
  • Studio Koltrast (Hakefjorden, Sweden)
  • Studio Koltrast (Linné, Sweden)
GenreFolk,[1][2][3] indie folk[4][5]
Length41:55
Label
ProducerJosé González
José González chronology
Live in Europe
(2019) 		Local Valley
(2021)
Singles from Local Valley
  1. "El Invento"
    Released: 17 February 2021
  2. "Visions"
    Released: 14 April 2021
  3. "Head On"
    Released: 9 June 2021
  4. "Swing"
    Released: 18 August 2021

Local Valley is the fourth studio album by Swedish singer-songwriter José González, released on 17 September 2021 by City Slang and Mute Records.[6][7]

It succeeds González's third studio album Vestiges and Claws, which was released in 2015, as well as the live album Live in Europe.[8]

Four singles preceded Local Valley, including "El Invento",[9] "Visions"[10][11] "Head On",[12] and "Swing".[13]

Background

Local Valley was recorded and produced by José González at Studio Koltrast in Hakefjorden and Studio Koltrast in Linné, Sweden.[14][15] "Line of Fire" is a re-recording of the 2013 song of the same name by González's band, Junip.[16]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.3/10[17]
Metacritic76/100[18]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[19]
American Songwriter[1]
Clash7/10[20]
Gigwise[2]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[3]
Mojo[16]
Pitchfork6.6/10[5]
PopMatters7/10[21]
Uncut8/10[14]
Under the Radar8/10[4]

Local Valley received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 12 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.3 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[17] In an 8/10 review, Sam Richards of Uncut wrote, "His always inventive finger- picking is more expansive and fluid, his vocals less vexed, his melodies more direct. As a result, [second track] "Visions" might be the best song he's written since his 2003 debut single "Crosses"."[14] Victoria Segal of Mojo wrote, "Local Valley has no lows, nor any thrilling highs, but it's an even, easy pleasure from start to finish."[16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by José González, except where noted

Local Valley track listing[22]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."El Invento" 2:33
2."Visions" 3:55
3."Void" 3:09
4."Horizons" 3:16
5."Head On" 4:45
6."Valle Local" 2:23
7."Lasso In" 3:47
8."Lilla G" 2:00
9."Swing"
  • José González
  • Hannele Fernström[a]
3:33
10."Tjomme" 4:56
11."Line of Fire"
  • González
  • Tobias Winterkorn
  • Elias Araya
3:08
12."En Stund På Jorden"Laleh Pourkarim2:42
13."Honey Honey"
1:48
Total length:41:55

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an additional lyricist

Charts

Chart performance for Local Valley
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[23] 41
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 72
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25] 156
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] 20
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[27] 43
Scottish Albums (OCC)[28] 25
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[29] 77
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[30] 25
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 41
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[32] 9
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[33] 12
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[34] 29

References

  1. ^ a b Zimmerman, Lee (17 September 2021). "Review: Jose Gonzalez Wanders Deep Into a Local Valley". American Songwriter. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b Giouras, Philip (16 September 2021). "Album Review: José González - Local Valley". Gigwise. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b Cromb, Dan (15 September 2021). "José González provides relief from modern life on Local Valley". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b Godfrey, Hayden (17 September 2021). "José González: Local Valley (Mute)". Under the Radar. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b Schonfeld, Zach (1 October 2021). "José González: Local Valley Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  6. ^ "MUTE Bank - José González - Local Valley". MUTE Bank. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  7. ^ Co, Truth & (8 August 2021). "José González - Local Valley". City Slang. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  8. ^ "José González Announces New Album Local Valley, Shares New Song". Pitchfork. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  9. ^ Monroe, Jazz (17 February 2021). "José González Returns With First New Song in 5 Years: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  10. ^ "José González announces new album Local Valley, shares "Visions"". The FADER. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  11. ^ "José González announces new album Local Valley and shares 'Visions'". NME. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Jose Gonzalez shares dreamy new single 'Head On'". 9 June 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  13. ^ Kenneally, Cerys (18 August 2021). "José González previews first album in six years with new single "Swing"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  14. ^ a b c Richards, Sam (October 2021). "José González – Local Valley: Former acoustic moper finds a joyful new purpose". Uncut. No. 293. p. 32.
  15. ^ "Local Valley". Bandcamp. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  16. ^ a b c Segal, Victoria (October 2021). "José González – Local Valley: Fourth album from subtle Swedish-Argentinian singer-songwriter". Mojo. No. 335. p. 91.
  17. ^ a b "Local Valley by José González reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  18. ^ a b "Local Valley by José González Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  19. ^ Monger, Timothy. "Local Valley - José González". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  20. ^ Garner, Shannon (21 September 2021). "José González - Local Valley". Clash. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  21. ^ Horowitz, Steve (5 October 2021). "José González Softly Goes to the Local Valley to Find Himself". PopMatters. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  22. ^ Redfern, Mark. "José González Announces First New Album in Six Years, Shares New Song "Visions"". www.undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  23. ^ "Austriancharts.at – José González – Local Valley" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – José González – Local Valley" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – José González – Local Valley" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  26. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – José González – Local Valley" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  27. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – José González – Local Valley". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  28. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  29. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – José González – Local Valley". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  30. ^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 38". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  31. ^ "Swisscharts.com – José González – Local Valley". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  32. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  33. ^ "Jose Gonzalez Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  34. ^ "Jose Gonzalez Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 September 2021.