While the San Fernando Valley is just a 30-minute drive from the glitz and glam of Dominique Pruitt’s Los Angeles dreams, the windswept suburbs can often feel like a lifetime away from that bustling metropolis. This sort of lamentation lies at the center of the singer-songwriter’s first new single in just around five years, “High in the Valley”. Washed by sun-drenched reverb and country-toned, jangling guitar and pedal steel, Pruitt confidently struts between the realms of Americana and vintage pop to deliver a tune that in itself strides between the high life of LA glamour and the supposedly parochial western landscapes of the valley. It’s a feel-good rockabilly number possessed by an infectious amount of self-confidence, showcasing Pruitt as an indomitable artist primed for a comeback.
Directed by Dana Boulos and styled by Shana Anderson, Pruitt carries this empowered performance over into the song’s visual, classically shot and designed in a way that evokes an earlier, vibrant era. On the music video, Pruitt tells PopMatters, “The day we shot the video (Friday, July 13th) I was fostering this sweet little angel dog named Joey (I named him that after the Concrete Blonde song of the same name, of course). Because we shot the video in my house, he was obviously with us the whole day. He was super attached to me and couldn’t bear to be anywhere but RIGHT next to me. So in almost every single shot, he was with me, just out of frame!”
“He’s literally laying on or by my feet in each shot where you can’t see my legs. I have some funny behind the scenes photos. He was also super shy with everyone, but when the cameraman, Andrew Yuyi Truong, laid on the ground to shoot the scene where I’m bent over above the glass table, Joey laid down with him, and it melted all of our hearts. So, a special shout-out to Joey who was my emotional support dog on set for ‘High in the Valley’!”