So Where To Today?

Andrew Bower (vocals/guitars), an expatriate Australian then living in Houston, enlisted his brother Sean Bower (bass) and Dan McNaulty (drums) in his hometown of Brisbane, Australia to form The Valery Trails in 2011. With the assistance of the internet and some intercontinental travel, the trio developed a set of songs started in Andrew’s home studio into The Valery Trails’ debut album Ghosts and Gravity, released in February 2012.

“If you’re looking to make your road movie about wide-open spaces and foolish choices coming back to haunt you, [Ghosts and Gravity] just might be your soundtrack.” - David Maine, PopMatters

In July 2013, after some online exchanges of tracks and ideas, The Valery Trails reconvened in Brisbane to record their second album, Buffalo Speedway, this time with the luxury of a full week in the studio together. The album was mixed in Brooklyn with Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Sebadoh, Spacehog).

“This sophomore album hits it out of the ballpark with its firm grasp of neatly chugging rock that bristles with a wealth of tasty hooks and sparkling harmony…This is the type of music that lifts one’s spirits in the most direct and immediate way possible: There’s a straight-on honest sincerity at work that’s impossible not to be moved by.” - Joe Wawrzyniak, Jersey Beat

For album number three, the band reverted to the technologically-enabled collaborative approach of the first album with recording sessions in Brisbane and Houston coming together to create a collection of songs that explores the different elements of The Valery Trails’ sound, from the power-pop hooks of “OK” through the layered guitars of “Cordless” and “Fall Around”, with excursions into Americana (“Doesn’t Have to Live There”) and the title track “Chameleon Bones” delving further into left field.

“These guys aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel; they’re trying to do something even harder. They’re showing us what can happen when you mix a concrete respect for certain musical lineages with a brazen disregard for modern convention.” - Joshua Pickard, Nooga.com

In 2020 Andrew moved back to Brisbane following an extended period of travel that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In between lockdowns and as restrictions eased, the band was able to spend time in the studio, joined by long time collaborators Tim Steward (Screamfeeder, We All Want To - guitars and vocals) and Skye Staniford (We All Want To - vocals) producing a wealth of material for a busy 2022 release schedule including The Introvert Blues and Disappear EPs leading up to the release of The Valery Trails’ fourth album, The Sky Is Blue. The album was mixed in North Carolina by Scott Solter, who has recorded and mixed an eclectic mix of artists including The Mountain Goats, Superchunk, and St Vincent.

“[The Sky Is Blue] finds that carefully carved out niche where the jangle of their fellow Aussies the Go-Betweens is married to the loud psychedelicized attack of a great late ’80s power trio. There’s passion and purpose in these songs that should be celebrated and analyzed by younger musicians. Do your homework, kids, and give this a spin." - Robert Ham - Paste Magazine - New & Notable Vinyl Releases

Following the release of The Sky Is Blue and a tour of Australia’s east coast to celebrate it’s launch, The Valery Trails took a bit of a pause as Andrew took on a project to build a recording and rehearsal studio in Brisbane, naming it Buffalo Speedway (when you have a good title, you may as well get as much use out of it as possible).

As soon as the studio was operational, the extended Valery Trails line-up responsible for the previous album reconvened to work on a set of songs that would become the band’s 5th album, Winter Palace. The new album continues the eclectic approach to genre of its predecessor, with songs exploring synth-pop stylings, horn-driven retro flavours, and some straight-up rock and roll sprinkled among the band’s trademark powerpop crunch and jangle.

With Andrew taking a hands-on role in recording and mixing the record (together with engineer Darek Mudge) there was time and space to explore and experiment without time and budget pressure, but the band’s decade plus experience recording together helped them avoid the temptation to disappear too far down any rabbit holes. The result is an evolution rather than a revolution, The Valery Trails confidently moving forward with their mission to express themselves via melodic guitar-based indie rock.

Throughout the life of the band, The Valery Trails have consistently received airplay and charted on US and Canadian specialty and college radio, as well as community radio in the US, Australia and Europe. Internet radio has been particularly supportive, with lengthy periods of rotation play.

Songs by The Valery Trails have appeared on PBS’ “Roadtrip Nation” and MTV’s “Teen Mom 2”, as well as being featured in online videos for the Dew Tour extreme sport online videos.

Heading into the band’s second decade, The Valery Trails continue to strive towards their goal to build a body of work on their own terms.