Valencia – This Could be A Possibility

From the instant I heard about this band I knew they were something special. When I heard that Rob Hitt, drummer for Midtown and owner of I-Surrender Records, called them his “favorite band”, I knew they would be good; because for some odd reason, I seemed to respect his ideas on bands. So when I got the CD I threw it in instantly, sadly, I couldn’t stand to listen to it more then 2 minutes. The disc was so badly scratched that it jumped every couple seconds, which made for a very annoying and excruciating listen. But still, the few bits I heard were good, so this only excited me more. And the fact that I had the CD but couldn’t actually listen to it started to make me mad. So I went in search of a new copy and when I finally got a copy that worked, I confirmed the fact that Valencia was something special.

Their debut album This Could Be A Possibility will soon be talked about everywhere, because once enough people start to hear it, they won’t be able to stop. After all, it’s ten infectious, catchy pop-punk songs tinged with a touch of emo sensibility. Think Fall Out Boy with a little bit more pop embedded within it. They kick it off strong with the highlight of the album, The Space Between and rarely fall below that standard for the rest of the album. Songs like Eagle Mount Drive, Que Sera Sera, 3000 Miles, and What Are You Doing Man? That’s Weird! all fly through the speakers accompanied by catchy choruses and energetic melodies toped off with strong, boyish vocals that actually don’t become annoying after a while. Although they could be easily thrown into any pop-punk band’s shoes, Shane’s vocals would be a hard thing to replace here just because it seems to fit so well without making you want to rip out your ear drums.

Of course, this being their debut, it would be quite a feat for them to go through it without one or two hitches. So sadly, there are a few fillers, particularly the slow Tenth Street which seems to just been thrown in there haphazardly. And while none of the songs really make you want to skip them, if you did, you wouldn’t really miss much.

While Hitt may have over hyped them a bit by calling Valencia his “favorite band”, there’s no denying that they have made a good debut here with This Could Be A Possibility. Give them a bit of time to craft their skill and they will be able to make the album which will throw them to the top of the charts.