Now you might be wondering why we at Cheap Shot Philly are posting a review of this album, considering it’s been on the shelf for about a year (two years, counting the original release). Well…fuck you…we work at a pace we’re comfortable with. Actually, we’re reviewing the freshman album from the local boys in Valencia so that when their second release drops (which is supposedly soon), you’ll be well-informed of this band and what to expect from their future projects. Think of this review as being more of a refresher course. You might know all about this, but at the same time, maybe after another listen, this album might start growing on you.

This Could Be A Possibility is the first release from Philadelphia-area band Valencia, and if you’re a pop-punk fan you’ve probably already given this album a listen. If you haven’t - either because you’re not into the whole punk scene or just never gave it much thought - I highly recommend this album, if you’re looking for pop-punk songs that you can bounce your head or even sing along to.

Now you can easily label these cats as another generic pop-punk band. If you give them a good listen, though, I think you can hear how they’re a bit different from some of those current cookie cutter bands. With lyrics like “and I never felt so high/as my back is to the ground/and were staring at the stars/making faces at the clouds”, this group reminds me more of 90’s pop punk as opposed to today’s. Instead of bands like Hawthorne Heights or Panic (!!!!) At The Disco coming to mind, I find myself comparing them to The Starting Line or even Saves the Day. Listening to tracks like "The Space Between" (don’t forget about the blue sky/the sunrise/and all the space between/it’s amazing how a girl like you could affect a guy like me), you can definitely hear a resemblance to Through Being Cool, Saves The Day’s third album.

Personally, however, there are three aspects of this album that keep me coming back. The first is the energy that you feel from every track. Even at first listen, you have to be aware of the vigor these guys are playing with, and that energy definitely comes through loud and clear. Another would be that Philadelphia is name dropped on a few of the tracks, and it’s always cool to hear the name of your hometown or something familiar to you in a song. One of those songs is "Tenth Street" (Looking out, from above/I’ll tell you what I really do love/I’ll let you know/Philadelphia makes me feel home). The most important aspect that brings me back is the song “How Will We Ever Know,” and that’s because of the guest vocals of my spunk rock princess, Rachel Minton (of Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer fame). Now I don’t know if the Grammys give out an award for “Most Adorable Guest Vocalist” but my vote would be for Miss Zolof. I’m sure if this award did exist though, then Jermaine Dupri would probably be a lock every year.

Overall, this is a good freshman album from Valencia, and hopefully they can shake off that generic label and continue to lay down tracks like they did for this release.

3 cheap shots out of 5 for Valencia’s first release.
Stand Out Tracks:
"Tenth Street"
"How Will We Ever Know"
"Away We Go"

Visit Valencia on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/valencia.