Kassi Valazza tours across the Benelux, starting next week

A critic says: "Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing is an album of subtly brilliant songs. This is sure to be one of the best country albums of the year, drawing from country and folk tradition to shape something fresh and unique. Instantly beguiling, repeated listens reveal hidden earworms and an intricate world of wistful characters dealing with both stasis and change."

We can't disagree with this second album of Kassi Valazza. It sounds like an ending – a moment of closure where loose ends and troubles are resolved. This resolution belies the album’s dominant themes of lonesomeness, longing and helplessness against the passing of time, yet also reflects Valazza’s calm acceptance of these difficult emotions, as she explores their inherent tensions and contradictions. This  album blends elements of country, traditional folk and psychedelia to create a sound that is lonesome yet warm, haunting yet rich. Across the set, Valazza’s rich imagery and evocative voice conjure vast vistas of hazy foothills, dusty ochre roads, verdant river valleys and wide blue skies scattered with passing clouds. The apparent simplicity of some tracks is deceptive, as repeated listens reveal their intricate, filmic structures and subject matter. 

Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing is a misnomer of an album title, because the woman knows how to create a damn mood. Though now based in Portland, Oregon, Valazza’s hazy melodies and lyrics that live just a bit west of reality reflect a youth spent in Arizona’s arid open spaces. Her songs end up as half country, half cosmic, with a not-insubstantial side of psych – music made for a road trip with absolutely no idea of a destination.

We're excited to have her over next week for a string of dates in the Benelux:

01/11: Haarlem, NL - Patronaat
02/11: Antwerp, BE - Dijngel Djangel
03/11: Volendam, NL - PX
04/11: Groningen, NL - Take Root