Ball of Wax’s relationship with Vanish Valley‘s Andrew McAllister goes back to our earliest days. Before his band Conrad Ford went by that name, they appeared on Volume 2 as Toy Tractor. Conrad Ford then showed up on Volume 4, covering one of my own songs. (Both of those volumes can be downloaded for free at their respective links.)
Now he’s gone and moved to sunny L.A. and started a new band, called Vanish Valley (whom you might have heard on Volume 21), and Vanish Valley has released its first album, called Get Good. I’m on my first listen now, and I’m digging it (big surprise). VV retains the sleepy pulse of McAllister’s earlier projects, and of course his careworn, flannel voice, but there are some new elements here to perk up one’s ears: a few more upbeat songs and some noisy guitars and keys cut through the banjos and lap steel and clear the air nicely.
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Check it out yourself and get your own copy at Vanish Valley’s Bandcamp page.