Download: Valley Queen, ‘Stars Align’ (and 99 more on NPR’s SXSW hot list)

Kevin Bronson on March 2nd, 2017

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Valley Queen’s no-frills, all-thrills Americana takes to the heavens in the L.A. rockers’ new single “Stars Align.” As on their two 2016 singles, the quartet — singer-guitarist Natalie Carol, bassist Neil Wogensen, guitarist Shawn Morones and drummer Gerry Doot — again show that reinventing the wheel isn’t necessary when refining it yields such rich results. Here, Carol’s yearning heartland vocals over Morones’ licks recall the finery of ’70s classic rockers in all their unsullied innocence. The song will appear on Valley Queen’s new EP, “Destroyer,” out March 10.

The song also appears NPR Music’s “The Austin 100” — a compilation of bands to watch at this year’s South by Southwest Music Festival, which starts in two weeks. Valley Queen is one of six Southern California artists to make the list; also in the mix are Cherry Glazerr, Finlay, Goon, Phoebe Bridgers and the Regrettes.

Annually, NPR’s mix is a valuable primer for attending SXSW.

And best of all, “The Austin 100” are downloadable via NPR (it’s a 900 MB file).

||| Stream: “Stars Align”