Margo Cilker’s sophomore album, Valley of Heart’s Delight, refers to a place she can't return: California’s Santa Clara Valley, as it was known before the orchards were paved over and became more famous for Silicon than apricots. Margo is the fifth generation of Cilkers born there, and in this 11-song collection, family and nature intertwine as guiding motifs, at once precious and endangered, beautiful and exhausting. The trees here are family trees, or they’re apricot trees, but suburban sprawl isn’t looking good for either. Cilker moved from California to the Pacific Northwest in her mid-twenties and wrote much of Valley of Heart's Delight while living in Enterprise, Oregon, a small town near the Snake River and powered by the river’s massive, publicly-funded hydroelectric dams. The dams (part of the same system Woody Guthrie was hired to write about) provide clean electricity to much of the western US but make it extraordinarily difficult for anadromous fish (such as Steelhead Trout) to return from the ocean and spawn in their native streams. Valley Of Heart’s Delight feeds off of this tension - how we live in and off of nature, how we live within and without family, and why we return to the places we were born.

Cilker and producer Sera Cahoone’s work on her critically acclaimed Pohorylle debut earned its accolades for lyric-focused production and understated musicianship. The pair maintain this approach on Valley of Heart’s Delight, bringing back the same crew to the same studio in Vancouver, Washington: Cahoone (Sub Pop, Carissa’s Weird, Band Of Horses) drums and produces, John Morgan Askew (Neko Case, Laura Gibson) engineers, Jenny Conlee-Drizos (The Decemberists) provides piano, organ, and accordion, Rebecca Young (Lindsey Fuller) plays bass, Kelly Pratt (Beirut) on horns, and of course, sister Sarah Cilker contributes harmonies. Those in need of more twang will appreciate the addition of Paul Brainard’s (M. Ward, Richmond Fontaine) pedal steel and telecaster work, Annie Staninec's (Mary Gauthier) fiddle, and the mandolin and high lonesome harmony of Portland country standard-bearer Caleb Klauder. Cilker also branched out in her song-collecting, reeling in a cover (“Steelhead Trout”) by Idaho native Ben Walden, ostensibly because of artistic and thematic reasons, but also because, in Cilker’s words, “it’s a damn good song and I wanted to record it.” Walden also sings and plays harmonica on the track.

Cilker's debut record was released in late 2021, a year swinging wildly between cloistered days of lockdown, social engagement roaring back to life like the former ‘20s, and the Greek alphabet entering the vernacular to turn us inwards again. This tumult was echoed in the artistic life of Margo Cilker, trying in vain to predict what kind of a world her first record would be released into while writing what would become her second. As it turned out, the world was welcoming of Pohorylle. The unpronouncably-titled, darkly-jacketed, quietly-released record ended up a darling of critics and fellow songwriters and notably ended up on albums-of-the-year lists in two different years (strange times indeed). The debut was also nominated for UK Americana Album of The Year alongside Brandi Carlile and Robert Plant, and earned Cilker a slew of festival performances and tours supporting American Aquarium, Hayes Carll, and Drive-By Truckers.

Margo Cilker currently lives near the Columbia River in Goldendale, Washington with her husband, songwriter and working cowboy Forrest VanTuyl, as well their dog and some horses. 

ARTIST STATEMENT:

My first album was set to release in 2020. Then timelines got turned upside down, so I had time on my hands. I moped, walked in circles, then started writing again. Eventually, I sent a second crop of songs to Sera Cahoone and she was excited to take another swing at producing. I started referring to this new set as “Valley of Heart’s Delight.” It’s an homage to the place I was born — a place I have roots, but don't always feel like I belong — the Santa Clara Valley in California, which was once known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight due to its abundance of fruit orchards in the first half of the 20th century. My dad, born and raised in Los Altos, CA where I grew up, remembers a time when “apricot” meant more to the area than “Apple.” 

I wrote these songs surrounded by the wild landscapes of the Northwest, but I was leaning toward the place I’d come from. I felt cut off from my family and the valley that held them. I spent hours thinking about my sense of belonging. I’d traveled through many places and then, when the travel stopped, I ruminated on where I had ended up. Where were you when the music stopped? I was in Enterprise, OR. And there in Enterprise, my mind drifted back to the Valley of Heart’s Delight. 

I wrote about family — about death and rebirth, and the arcs of love and art through a family line. There are songs that hint at missteps and redemption. There are songs about trees: in orchard rows, family trees, redwoods. And water: agricultural runoff, wild rivers, dammed rivers, baptismal flows. And there’s a song about a fish, cause it’s a damn good song and I wanted to record it. (Ben Walden wrote “Steelhead Trout” and also plays the harmonica solo on “Santa Rosa”).

Forrest VanTuyl was the first to hear most of these songs, as he was the songwriter nearest to me throughout. Some of his suggestions and edits made the final cut. You'll see he's credited on “Sound & Fury,” “I Remember Carolina” and “All Tied Together.” 

We recorded 14 tracks at Bocce with Sera Cahoone and John Morgan Askew at the helm and a cast of Northwest players, some old and some new. I especially love how Annie Staninec’s fiddle, Jenny’s accordion and piano, and Caleb Klauder’s mandolin play off each other once we got cooking. Paul Brainard’s pedal steel chimes around the record and we get the elastic twang of his electric guitar. My sister Sarah and Caleb lend their harmony singing. Kelly Pratt delivered the horns on “Keep It on a Burner.” The heart of the songs remains Sera and Rebecca as the rhythm section and myself on acoustic guitar, just like last time. The first go-round we figured out how to work together; this time, we'd studied the rapids, and we just ran the river. I’m glad we did. It was a quick recording and a longer mixing process, but a fruitful one. I am lucky to have worked on this project under Sera's mentorship and with her constant encouragement.

album lyrics here

Valley Of Heart’s Delight (2023)