The self-titled debut by Fortitude Valley – now UK
based but named after the Brisbane suburb from which their leader, Laura Kovic,
hails – is a power pop dream. Breezy, quality rock tunes of 2-3 minutes rattle
by, each as catchy and joyous as the last. The whole record is only 31 minutes long:
Fortitude Valley are very careful to keep everything short and oh so
sweet. Not a single duff track, it’s impressive stuff. Particular highlights include the two
versions of ‘The Right Thing’ – Pt. 1 a pop-punk ditty, Pt. 2 a languid ballad
(together reminding me of how much I like both ‘Polly’ and ‘(New Wave) Polly’). Opener ‘Baby, I’m Afraid’ is emotionally raw
but musically free, and ‘Forget About Me’ makes a case for being the happiest
break-up song ever, riding the wave of a chirpy guitar lick into the album’s
best chorus. This was only released in late October and I’m still playing it
all the time. Certainly, it is continuing to grow in my estimation: a placing
of 11th is impressive given the short time it’s had to take hold,
but I think it may also undersell where this could have ended up had it been a
spring release. A fantastic debut.