Valencia Live

Hey, you know that band that sounds like that band that kind of sounds like Fall Out Boy? Well there is a new band that sounds a lot like them.  Valencia is adding to the screeching-guitar meets screeching-broken hearted-boy music genre with their album “We All Need a Reason to Believe.”  Comprised of Shane Henderson (vocals), JD Perry (guitar), Maxim Soria (drums), George Ciukurescu (bass) and Brendan Walter (guitar), Valencia are definitely a competent band but there is something greatly lacking on “We All Need a Reason to Believe” and it’s not just originality.

All eleven tracks on the album sound painstankingly like the song that came before.  While each song is obviously about something slightly different than the last (though they all seem to be, in one way or another about a nameless girl) the pace of the album never seems to change. Even the songs that seem to slow things down quickly (pun intended) pick up and revert back to the faster tempo and create a monotony that could have easily been remedied with a balladesque track or two.

If you are a big fan of bands like the aforementioned Fall Out Boy or Plain White T’s or… well the list goes on, then you will definitely enjoy what Valencia has to offer.  All five band mates know how to play quite well and  Shane Henderson has a good voice: these guys know what they are doing even if its been done quite a few times before.

“We All Need a Reason to Believe” hits stores August 26, 2008. Check out the tracks: Better Be Prepared, Holiday and Carry On.  All three will give you a fairly solid idea of what “We Need a Reason to Believe.”

Photo by: Delirious