"Petition to change Valentine's Day into Palentine's Day."

Karah James, drummer of the Toronto pop group Valley, isn't a fan of the international day of love and romance. When asked for her thoughts on the holiday, she offers an alternative — Palentine's Day — which her friend from university celebrates as a day to express all forms of love: self-love, platonic love, love of animals and more. Singer Rob Laska chimes in with an even more specific proposal, jokingly noting, "We've trademarked our own: Valley-tine's Day."

It makes sense why a band like Valley would want to break free of the limitations Valentine's Day connotes. To the bandmates, the idea of love isn't just romantic. In their music, they're often reflecting on different kinds of love, much like James' friend. In fact, they say they hadn't written a traditional love song until recently: last year's "Oh shit… are we in love?"

"'Oh shit… are we in love?' was the first time where we were like, 'We need to give people something they could relate to their specific one, their S.O. (significant other), their partner, their love interest," Laska explains. "We wanted an anthem for that feeling, and I think down the line we're going to tap into that a little bit more."

While fans wait for more Valley love songs, the band opened up about how they, as a band, maintain their love for one another. "Band therapy," Laska says, without hesitation. Guitarist Mickey Brandolino concurs, explaining that specifically on the road there are "tight quarters, nine people on the bus at all times ... it's an emotional roller coaster."

Laska addresses this advice to other bands: "The best thing is having an outside person to vent to, and that shouldn't be your manager and it shouldn't be your team. Don't put that on anyone else. Find someone that you can get together with, and talk that stuff out."

To mark this year's Valentine's Day, which also coincides with the release of Valley's deluxe album Last Birthday (The After Party), we asked the band members to name their personal favourite love songs. Scroll down to see which songs they chose.

Rob Laska: Fleetwood Mac is Valley's favourite band. We fell in love with each other as a band, and as best friends, through that song. I think we reference Fleetwood Mac more than any other band when we're in the studio. They have such an incredible gift of combining organic elements with synthesizers, and just making music that you can dance and cry to. And this song is just a very sneaky kind of love song. It's kind of [songwriter Christine McVie] calling out like, "Hey, can you hear? I'm in love with you!" The lyrics, when you break them down, are really funny.

Karah James: "Don't Dream it's Over" is literally the song, in interviews when they ask "What's one you that you wish you wrote?" — that's the one I say. I just think it's the most beautiful song melodically, structurally, lyrically, vocally.

I wouldn't classify it as a typical love song because it's not singing to a specific person. I see it as a love song to like, the world and the planet and your universe. Each verse is about, "This is going wrong" and "This is going wrong," and "This isn't right in the world," but when the chorus hits — "Hey now, hey now/ don't dream it's over" — everything's going wrong, but it's like the friend coming over to you and being like, "It's all going to be good."

I think that's the biggest sort of sentiment of love that exists; just paying attention and being there for somebody is what love is. It's much more broad, but it's the greatest love song in my opinion. It's literally the only song I know by that band. I'm not going to pretend I'm a Crowded House fan, but I love that song.

Laska: I find [Taylor Swift] always puts a cool twist on love, and this song is cool because it's about this weird, grey zone where you're kind of getting over a relationship, and you're kind of down, but you start seeing another one at the end of the tunnel, and you start feeling what it feels to fall in love again. And I think that's such a special thing. It almost feels like winter's ending and spring is happening.

I just love specificity in writing, and I think being the biggest pop star in the world, it's such a gift that she can still write specific stuff that's genuinely happening to her, but people can relate to. That's what I'm always trying to achieve. Those kinds of lyrics hit me the hardest. I hate when things are bland and there's no colour to words and lyrics, and she just has consistently done that, especially with a love song. It's just beautiful, and that's one of my favourite bridges she's ever written. I don't know, that song just makes me feel really, really good. I don't hear enough songs about beginning to fall in love again after you've gone through something horrible in your life, and I love that perspective. [Swift's] the GOAT, she's my all-time favourite songwriter.

Alex Dimauro: That's been one of my favourite love songs for a very long time. The Beatles have so many great love songs, and the fact that Paul kept writing those, post-Beatles era, is really great. I feel like ["My Love"] is probably one of the most genuine love songs I've ever heard. I mean, the lyrics are literally, "When I go away/ I know my heart can stay with my love/ it's understood." You're certain and you have no worry in the world about any wavering love for that person. It holds a special place in my heart.

Mickey Brandolino: I was a little late on the Taylor train. I found her in high school. I just remember watching the music video [for "You Belong With Me"], which is so iconic with the signs and the windows. I think, as a teenager, just with my hormones going crazy, I just related to it so hard. It's very desperate, which I love because I feel like when you're listening to a love song like that, it really hits how you're feeling.

This was also a big introduction, for me, to pop music that's well structured, well explained, and has absolutely solid songwriting, but is also very deep and emotional. I think Taylor Swift is the most high-concept pop artist of all time. I feel like there's a lot of high-concept indie bands and artists, but I don't see a lot of Top 40, No. 1 hit songs where you watch the music video and there are like, 50 Easter eggs throwing back to this record and then also hinting at what the next record is going to be about. She's just a genius like that.