The title of Valencia's new album We All Need a Reason to Believe is by no means incidental. The Philly five-piece has said there was a conscious decision to counteract the whining that runs so rampant--and is essentially the wounded heart of all things emo--in mainstream music these days. And so songs like "Carry On" and "The Good Life" find the band eagerly embracing the sunny side of the street.
It's refreshing to hear stadium-sized pop-punk that doesn't dwell on breakups and other occasions for moping. In fact, Valencia is much more pop than punk, forgoing any trace of grit for clean-as-can-be production that includes echoed vocals and the occasional soaring string arrangement. These guys are on a major label, after all, and it shows. "Holiday" culminates in multipart vocal harmonies, and "Where Did You Go?" dollops on the squirrelly guest vocals of Zolof the Rock 'n' Roll Destroyer's Rachel Minton.
As you'd expect from a band signed to Columbia, singer Shane Henderson's earnest vocals are mixed as high as can be, and there are a few power-ballad-ish numbers (the aforementioned "Carry On") thrown in for good measure. Even then, though, Valencia is all about silver linings. That's especially admirable given that Henderon's girlfriend died suddenly a few years ago while the band was away on tour; if anyone deserves to make a heart-hurt album, it's him. And yet he sticks with big, booming anthems about moving on, a theme that's no less effective for being universal.
Kicking off a national tour with a sold-out release show at the Trocadero's intimate Balcony, Valencia will be back in a month at the TLA with their tour mates. But here's your chance to get up close and personal with a band that's uncommonly grounded and plenty catchy to boot.
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