Gardens need to be looked after with care — you can’t water them too much or too little. Still, you want to see them grow. 

Toronto alt-pop outfit Valley’s third album, Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden, goes all in on that concept. This is partly due to the departure of guitarist Mickey Brandolino earlier this year, but also thanks to themes of loss, rebirth and self-reflection, as well as a greater reliance on rock-driven instrumentation rather than the bouncy synthpop of their previous material.

Between some lo-fi alt-country vibes (“Growing (Apart)”), Alex G-esque indie folk (“Mosquito”), and ‘90s-flavoured indie rock (“Let It Rain”), the band’s dynamic as a trio is versatile and well-oiled, but still searching for its identity. At certain moments, some of the songs can feel a little too obvious a nod to the classics that came before them. 

“A Little Bit More” recalls Paul Simon and Fleetwood Mac (name-dropping a song by the latter band in the lyrics), while “When You Know Someone” — one of the album’s standout tracks — admittedly sounds so much like Bleachers that Jack Antonoff might as well have produced it. And while some melodies and hooks are noticeably stronger than others, Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden is a clear sign of growth for Valley, giving fans plenty to harvest.