Owls & Lions have some lessons to share, and they are using their gifts for song-crafting to do it.
“Take the High Road” comes off the New Jersey trio’s debut EP, There’s a Light, which was produced at Daxxit Sound Studios. With Jay Della Valle’s vocals rubbing against smoother, more minimal melodies at first, the song slowly expands into something grand. Strings and a chorus build up to give the song lift. This is Americana-steeped rock with a message: in a world built on increasing conflict, how can we find our way to the good?
The accompanying video also begins in simplicity and shifts. Illustrator/animator Nathan Morrow lets line-work figures wander through a forest together, hopping over logs as night falls. But as they travel, the world around them becomes more complicated until at last they are faced with a final obstacle: a literal high road to the sky.
Jay Della Valle, Nicole DeLoi, and Kevin Walters are generous with their advice, and even more generous in their compositional skills. Or as Della Valle sings, “How’s that for free education?”
There’s a Light is out now. To hear more from Owls & Lions, you can find them on their website, SoundCloud, and Facebook page. You can also follow the band on Twitter.
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