Portland based singer songwriter Kassi Valazza has released her nine-song debut, Dear Dead Days – an album that captures the expansiveness of the Arizona countryside where she was raised but also the trappings nostalgia can cause. Valazza’s vocals are gorgeous, rich, and blend perfectly well with the psychedelic flourishes and dreamy/intoxicating quality of the music. Notable tracks include: the beautiful opening track “Cayuse”; the country noir “A Fine Colour”; the country tearjerker “Running on Empty”; a lonesome, almost ghostly “Johnny Dear”; the dusty ode of “Verde River”; and the shimmering song “Chino.” Kassi Valazza’s Dear Dead Days is about as good as a debut album can be – it’s polished with songs that shimmer, hum, and stick with you long after the last track plays. – Written by JFelton
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