You know Valient Himself from his wild southern-rock-meets-metal band Valient Thorr. Between studio and live sessions, he’s worked with the likes of Motorhead, Mastodon, Red Fang, Gogol Bordello, Municipal Waste, Men Eater, Hjortene, Brief Lives, Heavy Temple, and Fever Moon. Now, he takes a stab at something very different in his solo debut.
Today, Valient unveils his first solo record, Crooner Jukebox. Recorded over the pandemic with musicians like Ian MacDougal (Riverboat Gamblers, Broken Gold, Band of Horses), William Cashion (Future Islands), Danny Blanchard (A Giant Dog), Ashish Vyas (Gogogo Airheart, Thievery Corporation, Ruff Feechers), Matt Conner (Station Aries, RPG), and Lucian Thorr (Valient Thorr, Birds of Avalon), Crooner Jukebox is a collection of cover songs ranging from Neil Diamond to Suicide, from the MC5 to George Clinton.
“I’ve always wanted to put out a record where I can try new things,” explains Valient Himself. “Sing in different ways than I have before. I love that POST POP DEPRESSION record Iggy Pop put out where he is just crooning the whole time. What an incredible talent. This isn’t a heavy rock album. This is a curated playlist of some of my favorite jams I love to sing that I’ve totally spent quarters (and dollars) at the jukebox on. And I hope it’s just volume one. I am indebted to all my friends for helping me accomplish something this beautiful. I would never have been able to do this without them.”
Check out the album below.
The album comes out tomorrow on cassette from Smokedoggg Records, then on vinyl in March. Follow Valient Himself on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for future updates.
Photo courtesy of Valient Himself
