Love At First Listen - Valencia's "Where Did You Go?"

Let me formally introduce you to Valencia. I've never been to any of their shows (although I would love to) but they are a band that I have been digging since I got a hold of their music. This relatively young quintet started out in 2004 and were originally on indie label I Surrender and now has a home on the major label turf of Columbia.

The band: Shane Henderson (vocals, top left), JD Perry (guitar, top middle), and George Ciukurescu (bass, bottom left) are 23, Brendan Walter (guitar, top right) is 22, and the elder statesman of the group is (Filipino/Pinoy!) 26-year-old drummer Maxim Loria (bottom right).

I've listened to a good chunk of pop-punk bands and so I can't fathom how a band as good as Valencia managed to escape my ears last year as they released their remarkable sophomore album (and major label debut) We All Need A Reason To Believe late last summer. I guess it is a case of sooner rather than later, since the album is full of pop-punk gems that are reminiscent of another Philadelphia band's latest album -- The Starting Line's Direction. Like the latter, the former is full of thoughtfully-written lyrics, wrought with emotion, and brought to full-force impact through anthemic rock choruses and power melodies.

Aside from my first love of "Free", the end trak on WANARTB, I gave Valencia's latest single, "Where Did You Go?" a listen and instantly found it as a track I could literally listen on a loop for a month. It is that powerful.

The song's message is indicative of the general themes of WANARTB: maturation, reflection, and mourning. In interpreting the song's lyrics, Shane tells the story of a man who is coping with the difficult end of a relationship. I later learned that Shane's girlfriend was killed in an accident in 2006 so this revelation does enhance the meaning of the song as the subject mourns the loss of his lover with his last words to her:

And it feels like this is the last chance I have to say every word that I've been fighting / Well, I have finally decided to hold my head up with pride and accept the way life takes you through these changes / 'Cause when you reach the stars, you've made it

Max's drumming throughout the song, the crunching guitars, and Shane's vocals all contribute to the song's message in the chorus: I get a little down on myself but when you came around, my whole world felt new / I opened up my eyes to the light and I saw deep inside of a love I felt was true / And if I ever let you go, I'm hoping that some time will show / That you're the one, You're the one for me

Check out their video, in which the band pays tribute to their hometown of Philly. The video may look low-budget (which makes me question the amount of money Columbia actually invested in promoting this band, alas I digress) but the song and this amazing band far makes up for it.