Valensole – The Forthcoming Debut ‘Where We Should Be’.
Valensole – Southampton, England, United Kingdom.
The Southampton based Valensole can either be described as a Punk-Rock band that have a considerable amount of vaguely related influences or a Alternative Rock band that stray very close to Punk-Rock. These were my initial thoughts upon pressing play on the band’s debut EP release releasing on the 3rd March this year, Where We Should Be.
The band take influence from the likes of Green Day, earlier Foo Fighters, Sum 41 and Oasis and within the first few seconds of ‘Staple Waster’, it’s fair to say said influences are distributed well. The tracks intro breathes said Foo Fighters influence with a guitar-tone sat somewhere between Green Day and harder end Post-Punk with the darker aesthetic of Alt. Rock looming.
‘Don’t Follow’ carries an almost classic Green Day chord progression but with that darker tone taking said sound further. ‘Don’t Follow’ carries a similar jangled guitar tone and coarse vocal stylistic to Garage Punks FIDLAR and marks one of the best on the release.
‘Believe’ and its echoed and looming intro is almost haunting and sits very well in a track that edges further towards a far heavier and aggressive sound, with its mid-tempo Punk-bite and simplistic but satisfying chord progression and rhythm section.
Valensole seem adept at having their music positioned between distinct comparisons and influences and with Indie Rock/Punk crossover of ‘Believe’ you hear latter-day Sum 41 and Oasis locking horns, in something I thought I would never hear let alone write in a sentence.
The opening of lead the and eponymous single ‘Where We Should’ be follows a similar line as its predecessor with comparisons to Screaming Bloody Murder and 13 Voices from a band that many pretend to dislike standing well enough against Valensole’s British-isms.
There’s one track left at this stage and you can’t help but notice that Valensole may well advertise themselves a Punk-Rock band but also carry a sizeable multi-applicability. You could easily see them on bill with more Indie and Alternative Rock led acts but also on Punk bills as that rockier band with enough bite for the angsty crowd.
As you’d expect ‘Inside Out’ doesn’t surpass much in expectation at this stage rather boats a strong continuity with the previous tracks. The cutting rhythms are complemented with a playful melodic guitar line opening with a further more melodic and tuneful structure standing through the verses. Also of note are the harder screams that although aren’t new this stage forcibly raise your eyebrows regardless at what may well be on the horizon.
Find the band below:
- For updates on the band and releases, head to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
- For merch, head to BigCartel.
- Where We Should Be will be available from all major digital music stores including bandcamp, iTunes, Amazon and Spotify with physical copies sold at shows.
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