Lovina Falls rallies against societal regression with the dynamic ‘Tragedy’
Valerie Forgione’s celebrated art-rock project returns with a lush and propulsive new single set for release on Friday, June 28
Lovina Falls headlines The Rockwell in Somerville on Saturday, July 6
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Photo Credit: Joan Hathaway
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BOSTON, Mass. [June 28, 2024] -- Societal disillusionment. Regression. Deception. General malaise.
The ingredients for life in a chaotic and uneasy 2024 combine to leave a fairly bitter taste in our collective mouths. But as the populace goes feral and neighbors turn on each other, Valerie Forgione has found comfort and camaraderie in the act of musical collaboration, providing her life with vivid color in an otherwise grayscale world. Through her new project, Lovina Falls, Forgione takes those aforementioned sentiments, ones she witnesses around her each day, and channels it into a propulsive and poignant new single, “Tragedy,” set for release on Friday, June 28.
The lush, dark cabaret art-rock of “Tragedy” is the first new music from Lovina Falls since last year’s debut album Calculating the Angle of our Descent, which found the vocalist for ‘90s-era alt-rock luminaries Mistle Thrush vocalist returning to the music spotlight after more than a decade away.
This new single arrives just ahead of a pair of live shows: A headlining evening at The Rockwell in Somerville on Saturday, July 6 with Parlour Bells and Happy Little Clouds; and an opening appearance for Chameleons on August 10 at The Sinclair in Cambridge.
“‘Tragedy’ is loud and crunchy, but it's authentic and still comes from the same place,” Forgione says. “There are similar elements that exist on Calculating the Angle of our Descent, but here they sit more at the forefront. I’m not a particularly angry person, but part of me is a little fed up with how people treat each other. So, I guess this is what comes from being fed up.”
Though “Tragedy” exists in some unfamiliar lyrical territory for Forgione, where she reacts to an increasingly tense world around her instead of staying focused on the beauty that exists around the distant margins, the sound is still entirely her own. It has a fierce sense of forward motion, swelling with emotion and urgency that broadens her own brand of eclectic alternative rock.
“It works really well as a bridge from the first album to the next,” Forgione admits. “I imagine it’s not expected, and think this will be a good introduction to Lovina Falls, Chapter Two. It’s also a bit editorial in a sense; sometimes things aren’t always what you expect.”
It could be said that Forgione wasn’t expecting to be here as Lovina Falls in this present moment. After the Mistle Thrush disbanded in the early 2000s, reuniting briefly in 2011 and 2014, Forgione focused on theater work around the Boston area, writing scores for local theater productions as well as contributing music for podcasts and select indie films. After Calculating the Angle of our Descent dropped in Spring 2023, where Forgione performed nearly all the album’s instrumentation, she rolled out a series of well-received music videos, and successfully returned to the live stage in December. An appearance at the Rock And Roll Rumble in April followed, and now, a new chapter of the Lovina Falls story is taking shape.
And it begins with “Tragedy.” Even its artwork, created by Forgione, was crafted using multimedia components, a combination of photography and acrylic paint. This organic practice is important to Forgione as an artist and songwriter, especially in the age of AI, as it allows for imperfections, movement, and happy accidents. That aligns with how she crafts her music as well.
“It started with a sound, created from bits and crunch, that became the rhythm,” Forgione says. “Thoughts were added – first a piano, then a voice, the bass, and then the return of the piano in loud, distorted, chaotic form. And then it was done. It accomplished what it needed to without being overworked. It’s short and to the point, and probably the most direct song I’ve written to date.”
Forgione wrote and recorded “Tragedy,” performing its vocals, keyboards, basslines, and “other sounds,” while co-producing the fiery track with engineer David Minehan at Woolly Mammoth Sound in Waltham. But it also features some key contributions, like Mistle Thrush’s Todd Demma on drums and Scott Patalano on guitar, while Minehan provides additional guitar and bass.
The live band showcases an even greater collaboration, at times swelling to nine members, including Patalano, Mistle Thrush bassist Matt Klain, drummer Chuck Ferreira, keyboardist Carrie Ingber, violinist Marnie Hall, guitarist Brenden Cobb, and singers Laura Klain and Emily Drohan. The component of a live band that takes Lovina Falls from a studio project to a dynamic nonet has excited and enticed Forgione, allowing her to create larger spaces doused in layers of harmonies, and ultimately reshaping her approach to writing and composition.
“Initially, Lovina Falls was a simple means of expression –- a way to transform vague ideas into tangible form,” Forgione admits. “With the introduction of the live band, what began as a basic creative outlet has since taken on a larger scale. It’s now possible to convey heft, strength, and multidimensionality, allowing the sound to extend beyond its original constraints and become something more sonic and immersive. Playing live with such talented folks has been exceptional. I am very lucky.”
It’s that sense of collaboration and communication that allows Forgione to see the world around her, and not let the negative bring her down (try as it might). Writing music, recording music, and then performing music has become a creative outlet -- even as the societal disillusionment, regression, deception, and general malaise creeps in more and more into our daily routine.
“It’s like being woken up from a long and restless sleep,” she concludes. “Reconnecting with people I haven’t seen in forever has been invigorating, and I’ve met so many new folks, too. There is an incredible sense of camaraderie in the music scene – it feels like we’re in this together, building something new from the ground up.”
Media Contact: Please direct press inquiries to Michael Marotta at michael@knyvet.com,
and reach Lovina Falls directly at lovinasounds@gmail.com.
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‘Tragedy’ production credits:
Written and recorded by Valerie Forgione as Lovina Falls
Engineered by David Minehan at Woolly Mammoth Sound
Produced by Lovina Falls and David Minehan
Valerie Forgione: Vocals, keys, bass, and other sounds
Todd Demma: Drums
Scott Patalano: Guitar
David Minehan: Additional guitar and bass
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‘Tragedy’ single artwork:
Artwork by Valerie Forgione
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Show poster for The Rockwell 07.06.24:
Poster by Valerie Forgione
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Lovina Falls artist bio:
Welcome to Lovina Falls, the latest musical project from veteran indie singer/songwriter Valerie Forgione. Valerie first made her name as the lead singer of Mistle Thrush, a band whose combination of indie rock drive, dreamy textures, and sparkling pop song craft made them a beloved fixture in their native Boston and beyond throughout the late 1990s and into the 2000s. Through their existence, Mistle Thrush shared stages with such luminaries as The Strokes, Spiritualized, Sonic Youth, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Lush, and Slowdive; won numerous Boston-area music accolades; were featured in Billboard Magazine, charted on the CMJ charts; and saw their music on TV show soundtracks. Steve Morse of The Boston Globe wrote that Valerie has “some of the most versatile pipes since the dream-pop heyday of Kate Bush.”
In the present day, Valerie has released her first solo album, Calculating the Angle of Our Descent. All songs are written, arranged, and produced by Valerie, as she accompanies her distinctive voice with piano, analog synths, guitar, bass, organ, and drums. From the harpsichord-driven “On Your Side” to the harmony-laden baroque-pop of “Back of My Heart” to the percolating synths and ‘90s-style alt rock of “Vaulted”, Lovina Falls is truly the work of a singular musical vision. Valerie’s intimate and instantly familiar alto will make Lovina Falls welcome to fans of her previous work, while her new sonic and songwriting explorations will endear her to fans of such contemporary indie voices as Fiona Apple, Bat for Lashes, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sharon Van Etten, and Angel Olsen.
Welcome to Lovina Falls.
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Media praise for Lovina Falls:
“[Calculating the Angle of our Descent] is a joyfully unclassifiable album that ranges from baroque pop to bracing electronics, both warm and challenging, with Forgione’s gorgeous voice delivering stories about the human condition.” _The Boston Globe
“Lovina Falls plays a dark version of pop music that the average fan of pop certainly would not consider pop. … [Valerie Forgione is] a captivating frontperson, and her style of music just gets better and better the more you experience it.” _If It’s Too Loud [live review]
“...absolutely beautiful.” _Scene Mom Says
“Ex-Mistle Thrush singer/songwriter Valerie Forgione has taken two (three? five? a hundred?) steps forward with Lovina Falls. To call Forgione’s new project a rock band is right and totally wrong. First, she wrote, arranged and recorded debut album Calculating the Angle of Our Descent as a one-person show. Second, it sounds like the soundtrack to a wonderland where the Bohemians, goths, punks, and dreamers took over.” _Boston Herald
“Some sleek modern production values serve to reassure us that we are not, in fact, forgetting ourselves, and that ‘Vaulted’ is truly brand new: a delightful amalgamation of old-school songcraft served up with a modern character.” _Rumor Control
“Captivating and colorful like the song itself, the visual [for] ‘Vaulted’ sports a series of scenes in settings ranging from a magic show, a carnival, and an abandoned playground which, under the watchful eye of Hathaway, adds greatly to the Lovina Falls mystique.” _Rock & Roll Fables
“From the haunting sound of the harpsichord on ‘On Your Side,’ to the exquisite fusion of baroque pop harmonies on ‘Back of My Heart,’ Lovina Falls is truly the reflection of a unique musical vision.” _Oleada Indie
“The breathtaking video was directed and produced by Joan Hathaway, and is the perfect visual companion for Valerie Forgione and her new musical vision.” _The Whole Kameese
“‘Too Bright To Burn’ is a trippy, instantly sticky and bass-driven vibe with Forgione’s crystalline voice flowing all over it. It’s part of her notable debut longplayer Calculating The Angle Of Our Descent.” _Turn Up The Volume
“Lovina Falls sees Forgione going in a new sonic direction. The latest single from her new album, ‘On Your Side,’ is more baroque pop than alt-rock. There are still the basic elements of 90's indie rock sprinkled throughout ‘On Your Side’, and even some of the more pop focused side of trip hop. It’s an interesting new direction for one of our favorite Boston 90's artists, and we’re looking forward to seeing what other directions Lovina Falls goes in.” _If It’s Too Loud
“The track itself, appearing on Calculating the Angle of Our Descent, which dropped in May, has so many elements within that will easily appeal to fans of Forgione’s former band but also bears a plethora of new aural layers that reveal themselves upon each fresh listen. And when you think you have a handle on what’s to come, one of Boston’s original Goth Goddesses/Witchy Women swerves some more to take you on a sort of Baroque Goth meets Electronica journey replete with ethereal vocals to make sure the track never dwells in any one genre for too long.” _Rock & Roll Fables
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Press Contact: Michael Marotta at michael@knyvet.com
Artist Contact: Valerie Forgione at lovinasounds@gmail.com
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