Ava Valianti
“January”
Subtle, powerful, soft and biting, just the like month.
I hope you don’t make the mistake of simply playing “January” in the background and enjoying the ambiance of this track, you’re going to miss out on its beautiful depth, lyrics, complexity and production.
At first pass, it’ll remind you of Mazy Star or Kacey Musgraves with it’s ambiance and Ava’s solid vocal range, but then the bottom drops out of the 54 BPM ballad and the tempo picks up to around 160. At that point, I hope you go back to the beginning and really start paying attention.
Love the fact that it clocks in at 4:36, and not the standard 3:00 formula. Adore that beautiful chord change she employs by going to a major 3 off the tonic. The back and forth of sections, ballad at 54 BPM and uptempo of 160, remind me of the complexities of winter weather and the tempests of New England. Then there’s her lyrics - brooding and depressive in the down sections, biting and sarcastic in the uptempo - a perfect fit for the energy both sections exude in what I assume is a diss track, directed towards an egotistical and selfish love interest. The second uptempo section, right around 1:34, contains an incredible stanza about lyrics from other artists, and how we use them to relate to our personal lives. The ability to convey that so concisely shows Valianti’s prowess as a lyricist, and her remark about staying on pitch is a hilarious rebuke that only the musically literate can truly appreciate. Lastly there’s her voice, and her solid command of it. It would be very easy to mumble through the down sections of this song (imitating that unfortunate trend of too many female pop singers today), but her pronunciation and delivery are crystal clear. The uptempo sections display a solid alto and falsetto voice that is unique in its timbre. When you hear her, you’ll know it’s unique.
Ava Valianti is a full-scale artist from Massachusetts. Photographer, songwriter, singer, actress - she exudes creativity in every medium so it should come as no surprise that this track reflects the depths of her artistry. So excited that we came across her music and we can’t wait to hear more - hopefully she’ll play a gig in Nashville soon. Great track, Ana!