The evocativeness of the name Tender Forever is unusually representative of the music that Tender Forever (AKA Melanie Valera) creates. It may be somewhat hard to track amongst the invigorating percussion that permeates the music, but Tender Forever's lyrics have a strong center in the intimate and revealing. Valera's slick arrangements do their part in creating a wall around the personal revelations that inhabit her songs, but a tender, beating heart lives in her music.

Though Tender Forever's music spends a lot of time in the world of electronica, there's a tangibility to the songs that breaks free from the coldness that has a tendency to well up in that kind of music. Synths and clatter buoy Valera's clear and affecting voice.

Hailing from France, Valera came to America on a brief tour with the Blow, before having a chance encounter with K Records' Calvin Johnson at a tiny show in Olympia.

To read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature, click here.

Tender Forever

with STLS and Romanteek
Friday, Nov. 4, 8 p.m., $5, all-ages
The Midnight Sun, 113 N. Columbia St, Olympia