Valley Onda Step Into the Void on the Mesmerising “Minacious”

There’s something uneasy lurking at the edges of Valley Onda’s new single — not quite dread, but an ambient pressure. Titled 'Minacious', the Sydney trio’s latest is a dense, slow-burning odyssey that weaponises restraint, conjuring a world of sonic shadows and desert heat. It’s a song about fear, but not the kind that sends you running. It’s the kind that compels you to look longer, walk further, stay with it.

Since their 2019 debut, Valley Onda have quietly refined their approach to atmosphere. Their work has always sounded cinematic — not in the sweeping orchestral sense, but in the way a single dissonant chord can hang in the air like dust, or how a kick drum can imitate the heartbeat of someone trying not to panic. With 'Minacious', they dig deeper into that palette, layering dusky guitars, ghostly synths, and singer Jordan Wilson’s voice — cracked at the edges, soaring at its peak — into a composition that feels equal parts Ennio Morricone and mid-period Radiohead.

The track opens with a slow, deliberate unraveling. A spare beat and reverb-soaked guitar riff create a tense minimalism that wouldn’t feel out of place on Amnesiac, before giving way to grander production flourishes: billowing synth pads, subtle glitches, and harmonic stacks that teeter on the edge of the psychedelic. Producer-drummer Galen Sultmann resists any temptation to blow the mix wide open. Instead, he lets it hover, coil, and shimmer — tension as texture.

Wilson’s lyrics are impressionistic, less interested in narrative than in evocation. 'Minacious' doesn’t chart a clear path so much as it dares you into the wilderness, following murmured clues and flashes of revelation. When he sings of “stepping into the unknown,” it doesn’t sound like a choice — it sounds like compulsion, or fate. The Western Sci-Fi visual the band mentions isn’t just aesthetic window dressing; the song moves like a lone rider crossing shifting psychic terrain, with each verse pushing further into the uncanny.

“‘Minacious’ is the spirit of going through to move beyond. It’s about confronting your fear and stepping into the unknown. With a Western Sci-Fi feel the song moves through eerie landscapes, unafraid to keep taking steps towards its transcendent destiny. A voyage if you will. Again this song has a heavy studio vibe, which combines all of what makes Valley Onda great, big guitars, synths and beats under a huge vocal.”

There’s a patient ambition at play here. Unlike their more approachable early releases, 'Minacious' feels uninterested in immediacy. It rewards headphone listening and quiet rooms. It leans into its own murk. If Valley Onda’s earlier material invited comparisons to Bon Iver and Mansionair, this latest offering edges closer to the apocalyptic romanticism of early Muse or the ambient menace of The Black Angels. It’s a shift that suits them.

'Minacious' is a strange word — technical, severe. But in Valley Onda’s hands, it becomes a spell. A warning, yes, but also a promise: that some fears must be faced head-on, and some songs don’t need to explode to leave a mark.

Stream 'Minacious' now: