Local Valley

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]

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

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, "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. Zimmerman, Lee (17 September 2021). "Review: Jose Gonzalez Wanders Deep Into a Local Valley". American Songwriter. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  2. Giouras, Philip (16 September 2021). "Album Review: José González - Local Valley". Gigwise. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  3. 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. Godfrey, Hayden (17 September 2021). "José González: Local Valley (Mute)". Under the Radar. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  5. 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. 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. Segal, Victoria (October 2021). "José González – Local Valley: Fourth album from subtle Swedish-Argentinian singer-songwriter". Mojo. No. 335. p. 91.
  17. "Local Valley by José González reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  18. "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.
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