Last we checked in with Valley Queen was two years ago upon the release of “In My Place,” a song that fulfilled a fantasy I didn’t know I had: Florence Welch fronting a retro rock band with traces of Jefferson Airplane, Fleetwood Mac, and the Pretenders. Welch doesn’t actually front the LA combo, but lead singer Natalie Carol exudes a similar powerhouse intensity, one that continues to course through new single “Chasing The Muse.”

The song, our first preview from a new album coming later this year, tackles the fallout from a separation with hearty roots-rock that unfolds like rolling terrain. Valley Queen build from delicate verses (“I fear I’ve made a terrible mistake”) to a huge, cathartic chorus in a way that feels pleasingly organic. Carol explains the song’s background:

I was very raw, at the beginning of a separation, and started seeing a therapist that was not very helpful — just continuously asking me “how does that make you feel” and wanting to divide my life into parts of a Venn diagram on a dry erase board. She never really went deep enough with me for real radical change to happen but that “parts” exercise did conjure the beginning words to this song. I left that therapist soon after this song got written and sought healing elsewhere.

Mackenzie Howe from the Wild Reeds came over not too long after I had written the lyrics and wrote that lead guitar line you hear me playing throughout the song, playing through my amp in my living room. I love that she is weaved into this song through that line.

Listen below.

TOUR DATES:
Apr 03 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court**
Apr 05- Denver, CO – Globe Hall**
Apr 07 – Kansas City, MO – recordBar**
Apr 08 – St Louis, MO – Duck Room @ Blueberry Hill**
Apr 10 – Evanston, IL – SPACE
Aug 3-5 – Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon
**with Liza Anne

Valley Queen’s new album is out later this year on Roll Call Records.