A few months shy of a year since they released their debut full-length, sensory intoxicating pop duo Valley Hush have released a new single. The very title, “Goodbye, Sweet Mango”, is quintessential Valley Hush, conveying the marble cake of winsomeness and sweetness defining their sound.
The number opens as if a radio is tuning in a deep space signal. That is quickly supplanted by weirdly robotic marching percussion and Lianna Vanicelli’s gossamer drifting vocals. From there, multi-instrumentalist Alex Kaye crafts a tapestry of sci-fi soundtrack tones and jungle vibes. Amid the layers of glimmering synths and descending guitar parts, Vanicelli’s lyrics capture the plaintive wanderlust that compels loved ones to be left behind. In the video, her disembodied lips sing over impressionistic, travelogue imagery to aptly convey this sensation, her lyrics scrolling past.
“The inspiration behind the song came from the feeling of saying goodbye to a place and people that you truly love, not knowing when you’ll see them again,” Kaye said. “Specifically, the Philippines which is literally on the other side of the planet from Detroit. Lianna had just visited her family there last February, and this track poured out a few nights after being home, (she was) while very jet-lagged and emotional. It is such a strange — and beautiful — thing to be connected to people and a place so far away.”
The song has an innate yet hard to explain tropical feel, even without the video accompaniment. From moment to moment, it can shift its emotional weight from maudlin to inspiring.
“Overall, we just want the lyrics to our songs to be more accessible, so we felt this was a nice way to go about it,” Vanicelli added. “I love knowing the lyrics to songs. I think it brings the listener so much closer to the intention of the song. Alex thought of the idea of shooting my lips singing the words as a way to bring the listener even closer to the emotion and lyrics in the song.”
The nature shots are a combination of footage shot by Detroit-based photographer/videographer Evan Zott and shots Vanicelli took while in the Philippines.
“Goodbye, Sweet Mango” is the first in a series of singles the band has in store, though if they’ll find homes on forthcoming EPs or LPs is still being decided. The group is also planning a move to Los Angeles in the near future.