(Brick Lane Records)

Yesterday, the music world received some very, very fortunate news. Valley Maker, the brainchild of Austin Crane (a Seattle singer-songwriter by way of South Carolina), has signed with Brick Lane Records and will be announcing a new album (slated to release later this summer) in the days to come. 

For anyone who had the distinct pleasure of listening to Valley Maker’s most recent effort, “Yes, I Know I’ve Loved This World,” this is big news, and even more so considering how cloudy the future of this project once was. Citing unease with the way that “YIKILTW” was recorded--and a discomfort with the final product that was ultimately released--Crane took the record down from the group’s BandCamp page amidst fan-wide acclaim. Although this move initially felt knee-jerk and misguided, it came with a promise that the reworking of the album’s songs (accompanied by a move to Seattle) would lead to the brightest possible future for the band. As difficult as it was for myself and the fanbase at large to understand why a nearly perfect album deserved a death sentence, we put our collective faith in Crane and his decision, understanding how important and necessary this sort of control over one’s art can be.

With yesterday’s announcement, and a new album looming, the time has finally arrived for Valley Maker to begin making waves once again, and I--along with so many others--could not be more ready to hear what Crane has waiting for us up his sleeve.