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Conceived in 2013 by singer/songwriter Valley Lopez, Middle Sea forges a modern, thoughtful creation of indie rock. Drawing from influences like My Morning Jacket, Radiohead, and Arcade Fire, the Missoula-based band shifts between densely orchestrated arrangements and visceral, stripped down songwriting. The five piece group of Valley Lopez (Rob Quist, Guerrilla Radio), Emmet Ore (Shakewell), Brady Schwertfeger (Norwell, Arrowleaf), Cove Jasmin (Shakewell), and Jake Whitecar (Mendelssohn) form an eclectic cast of multi-instrumentalists from all corners of the Missoula music scene. Together, they create music that’s been dubbed “exciting”, “epic”, and “full of wonder.”


At its start, Middle Sea formed from a songwriting exercise: Take 4 hours a day, write a song idea, then forget about it. Do this for 70 days. In the end, take all the ideas, compile them, and begin to form actual songs. New Blue Winter, Middle Sea’s full-length debut album, was born from this process.

New Blue Winter showcases Valley as a multifaceted musician and songwriter. In addition to co-producing the album, he played nearly every instrument on each track.
While Winter could stylistically be called a pop album, there is an unsettled quality to its exuberance. Beneath the sparkly guitars and chugging synths, an atmosphere of melancholy pervades much of the LP. New Blue Winter is a vast, shimmering wall of sound, but it’s built on a bleak and vulnerable foundation.