Slowcoaching’s “Night Fiction” was one of my favorite tracks from 2016 (and will be one of many tracks appearing on our Spotify best-of playlist coming in a week or so); it reminded of Wild Nothing’s post-punk allure as well as The War on Drug’s timeless rock-led yearning, though Melbourne-based Dean Valentino overall does have a feel all his own. So it’s nice to hear that he already has a new track in 2017, one entitled “Training Wheels”. Per Valentino, it “offers up a darker side, with layers of sparkling guitars brooding over the top of skin tight drumming. Lyrically the song touches on the details of a car accident and the desire to begin a new chapter, with the gradually building synths providing a light at the end of the tunnel.”
With swelling synths and glimmers of guitar making for a great mid-section build and into a stirring conclusion, “Training Wheels” re-affirms Valentino as one of the more promising singer/songwriters I’ve heard recently, with both a great knack for hooks and atmosphere.
