Every Valley

A 1951 view of Elliots Colliery, located in Rhymney Valley, one of many 20th century coal mines in the South Wales Coalfield.

Every Valley has been described as "a story of industrial decline", by the band's lead writer J. Willgoose Esq. in a post on social media blog site Tumblr.[1] The album begins in the "golden age" of the mining industry in Wales, and documents the industry's progress, decline, and its aftermath, with the nationwide miners' strike playing a crucial role in the album's story.[1][2] While Willgoose and his family has no involvement in Wales' mining industry, he cited "the romanticism of the valleys and their geography", and his interest in the country's history with mining, as inspirations for the creation of Every Valley.[2] Contemporary political themes were also a driver for the album's development, with Willgoose stating that the decline of the Welsh mining industry was "a story reflected in abandoned and neglected communities across the western world, and one which has led to the resurgence of a particularly malignant, cynical and calculating brand of politics."[2]

"Progress", the fourth track on Every Valley, was inspired by the sound of Kraftwerk, with its bass line and use of a vocoder drawing parallels to the tropes of the German electronic group.[3] The song, which appeared on a single prior to the release of the album, was intended by Willgoose as a message that "progress will win in the end", using samples of 1950s documentaries on the progress of technology in the mining industry, and a chorus stating "I believe in progress".[4] Willgoose also affirmed that the song continued the band's motto of "celebrating human achievements, innovation and resilience, even in the face of overwhelming odds", combating his fear that people thought of his band as purely nostalgia-based. He also affirmed that "Progress" is "an attempt to state that more explicitly, especially at a time when certain regressive elements seem determined to take us back to some non-existent, halcyon 1950s era."[4]

View of the defunct steelworks factory near Ebbw Vale, where the band recorded Every Valley.

The band traveled to Ebbw Vale, Wales, a former steelworks town to record Every Valley in the lecture hall of a defunct workers' institute. J. Willgoose Esq. wrote of the idea to record in Ebbw Vale, "it seemed important to record in the valleys, as I wanted this album to feel connected to the area it was written about in ways our previous albums hadn’t been. I wanted the album to have a rich, earthy, full sound, and to carry some of the lilt and lyricism of the language itself."[1] To assist and inform the record's production, the band conducted interviews with local townspeople in Ebbw Vale about their histories with the mining industry in the region, of which some were recorded and appear on the album itself.[3]

Four featured artists appear on Every Valley, including two of Willgoose's musical heroes – James Dean Bradfield, the frontman of Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, and Tracyanne Campbell, the lead singer and guitarist for Scottish indie pop band Camera Obscura. They appear on "Turn No More" and "Progress" respectively.[3] The album also features Welsh actress and singer Lisa Jen Brown, of Welsh language folk band 9 Bach, on "You + Me", and the English post rock band Haiku Salut on "They Gave Me a Lamp".[3] Every Valley marks the first Public Service Broadcasting record to contain vocals by its frontman, J. Willgoose Esq..

The announcement of the album's release was shortly preceded by the release of "Progress", one of the album's tracks, on a single of the same name on 9 March 2017.[5][4] Every Valley was officially unveiled by the band on 20 March, through an announcement video uploaded onto the band's social media pages that detailed the album's title and a release date of 7 July 2017.[1][2] Two weeks later, on 3 April, the album was put up for pre-order on their website and through various retailers. The album's full track list and featured artists were also revealed on the day.[3] The album will be released on compact disc, digital download and LP vinyl formats, along with a limited edition clear vinyl format.[6]

A music video for "Progress" was also released on 3 April. The video, which pays a homage to the signature surrealism of the music videos of Kraftwerk, features the band surveying the musical progress of cloned versions of themselves, with scientists in white coat also observing and recording notes.[7] Willgoose stated about the video, "the song itself nods quite heavily to Kraftwerk, we also thought it'd be nice to make the video a similarly respectful doff of the cap in their direction."[3] Prior to the release of the album, two shows by the band, billed as "Every Valley Live", will be played at the Ebbw Vale Institute on 8 and 9 June, staged to preview and promote the album's release. The concerts will be preceded themselves by a previously-announced show at the Electric Ballroom, in London, England, on 31 May.[8]

Credits adapted from Every Valley liner notes.[10]

• Official website of Public Service Broadcasting