Review by Rachel Jablonski
Like peanuts on a Salted Nut Roll, bands consistent with the current pop/punk trend seem rather undistinguished in today’s music scene. You’ve got your Yellowcards, your Good Charolettes, your My Chemical Romances, but with the constant overlap in over the top vocals and often bland musical spouts, certain flare often seems to be missing in each dry and salty nibble. But this does not discredit ALL bands that may fall into the genre because marshmellowed tightly between the dull are a few bands such as Philadelphia’s Valencia, fresh off playing at Warped Tour 2005.
The very first line of Valencia’s debut album, This Could be a Possibility, does not cry breakthrough and is questionable. There’s something strange going on in my head, singer Shane Henderson proclaims immediately in “The Space Between.” At first my stomach begins to weaken as if I have just binged on a couple of thousand Salted Nut Rolls. The sing-song fluctuation of the vocal melody line immediately triggers a pop/punk warning in my head. But, never fear! Valencia is not peanuts! After the initial vocal burst, “The Space Between” reveals a fresh, clean, and revitalizing sound that is better categorized as straight up melodic rock.
I want to continue, but the clean and catchy so Casey can you remember sitting by my side… chorus of “The Space Between” sticks to my gray matter. The lyrics are not deep, but the song is upbeat, not sappily so, and listener friendly. Other songs, like another great track called "Tenth Street" for instance, are similar in nature. Though these choruses may be catchy, the album in general is not overly vocal focused contrasting more typical pop/punk music. Instead, This Could be a Possibility is attentive, versatile, guitar-oriented rock.
“Que Sera Sera” breaks heavy with guitars and smacking drum beats. Beyond the music, which is bursting with energy, this song is of particular interest due to the song title. “Que Sera Sera” is also the name of a song that was written for Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 re-make of his 1934 film The Man Who Knew Too Much starring Doris Day & the fabulous Jimmy Stewart. As an avid Hitchcock fan, owning much of his work, my curiosity runs high, but as far as I can tell the Valencia song does not have anything apparent to do with the film or the Doris Day song.
Similar to “Que Sera Sera,” “Eagle Mount Drive” is a fun guitar distortion happy mix. So is “Backs against the Wall,” one of the best tracks on the album with its guitar breakdowns and lovely solo. Fans of pop/punk or not, Valencia’s debut album goes beyond the scope of the current trends and displays a melodic rock outpouring that is surprisingly striking.