By Susie Salva
Pennsylvania natives Valencia put forth an endearing and inspiring release, “We All Need A Reason To Believe”, on Columbia Records. In the vain of their label mates Boys Like Girls and fellow pop punk rockers like the All American Rejects and Fall Out Boy these guys prove they know how to rock. Their upbeat tempos, catchy choruses, and insane hooks serve them well and are incredibly moving.
Valencia set out to produce a record that was happy, upbeat and positive. “So much of the music out there now is negative,” says Valencia frontman Shane Henderson with a heavy sigh. “It’s about someone complaining about their life. But that’s why we wrote this record. We wanted to write about how you should be happy, and how you shouldn’t let what happens in your life upset you.”
While the band was on tour, Henderson (then 21) received some jarring news. Back in Newton, PA his girlfriend was injured in a freak accident and had to be rushed to the hospital. The show that night was cancelled and the members of Valencia (Shane Henderson, vocals, JD Perry, guitar, Brendan Walker, guitar, George Ciukurescu, bass, and Max Soria, drums) immediately turned their van around and headed home. Sadly, they were too late. When they arrived home Henderson’s girlfriend had already been pronounced dead. Much of this record is homage to his late girlfriend.
The tragic death that spring sent shockwaves through the Valencia camp, but they persevered and eventually began work on an album of new material. By the winter of 2007, the band had found themselves camped out in Los Angeles, where they teamed up with the producer Ariel Rechtshaid (Plain White T’s, We Are Scientists, Say Anything) to record their sophomore release.
The end result is “We All Need A Reason To Believe”, an eclectic affair that explores what happens when five young men are suddenly forced to deal with some very adult issues. Still replete with pop-punk hooks, but also with a far more mature statement, it is on tracks like, “All At Once”, that Valencia still churn out the kind of inch-thick hooks that made their debut CD, “This Could Be A Possibility,” a cult hit.
The lead track, “Better Be Prepared”, and second cut, “Holiday”, are extremely hook laden both dealing with the anticipation of seeing someone you haven’t seen in awhile and how things change in the interim. Elsewhere, on poignant sing-alongs like, “Listen Up”, and “Where Did You Go?” the songs take on surprising musical depth, while the band gets some help on vocals from The Starting Line’s Kenny Vasoli and Rachel Minton from the Zolof The Rock ‘N’ Roll Destroyer. That track deals with life’s ups and downs and the joy of finding that one special someone. On the stirring ballad, “Carry On”, Henderson finds the strength to carry on in the hopes of receiving good news during a trying time.
One of the album’s most compelling moments can be heard on, “The Good Life”, a rollicking alt-country track that was inspired by the sudden death of Henderson’s girlfriend. “That whole experience deeply affected my life”, says Henderson. “We wanted to write a record that looked on the brighter side, and have songs on the album that portrayed hope and optimism”.
Ultimately, that’s what Valencia have done. Where other groups spend the years between adolescence and adulthood bemoaning their last break-up, the members of Valencia have make an album with the kind of unrelenting optimism that you can’t help but admire. This CD proves that they can rise up to the occasion and deliver the goods. These guys have taken a dire situation and made it into a moving feat. The quintet has tons of promise. For all things on Valencia please go to www.valenciamusic.net or www.myspace.com/valencia
