She Wants Revenge

This is Forever

November 04, 2007

By Mr. Marlowe

** 1/2 / ****

Released 2007

Bigger, bitchier, and more brooding than their debut, She Wants Revenge’s This is Forever is a calculated and daring entry into a conglomeration of genres always on the popular music borders but rarely in the spotlight: techno, goth, and post-punk. A bold move for a band courting the mainstream, but unfortunately This is Forever is mostly a smoke and mirror mimicry affair with little in the way of substance or excitement save a handful of excellent singles, not good signs for a band flowing in a stream of pretension to begin with.

Depeche Mode and Joy Division are clearly worshipped by She Wants Revenge and on their second full length effort two-man band Justin Warfield and Adam 12 do their best to meld the sound and attitude of their idols into a modern musical statement. What that statement is certainly isn’t clear as it was on their self-titled debut but with an album cover exactly the same as its predecessor save in black instead of white perhaps it is little more than a tired retread without the kick and cunning.

Where She Wants Revenge’s first effort had song after song creating a nervous tension that sometimes got resolved in a chorus and sometimes did not, This is Forever merely meanders from tune to tune in an ever more repetitive fashion never going anywhere. She Will Always Be a Broken Girl is a prime example. This new tune is little more than a poor man’s These Things from the band’s debut and She Wants Revenge seems to openly admit it. The theme in both songs is similar (bitchy break-ups) as is the tune of the chorus. But why? Is this the link that cleverly connects the two albums or merely the best evidence that the band has already run out of new ideas? Whichever way you view the parallel of these two songs will most likely prove where you sit on the fence regarding the merits of This is Forever.

I am in the “this is merely OK” camp. Like some sort of post-punk elevator music, the synth drones and relentless bass lines fill in space but never grab me by the jugular. I could dissect this album song for song but it isn’t necessary. One listen to the album and the pattern is obvious: didn’t we already hear this song two songs ago?

Suffice it to write the best songs on This is Forever are the ones that sound the most different from the others. Rachel is techno rock extraordinary and an excellent note to close the album. Likewise, Checking Out shimmers in the way last year’s Rock Kills Kid album did channeling new wave with post-punk over a perfectly pop format. Fewer anti-pop flourishes, more brooding, and less Warfield whimpering equals a better She Wants Revenge and quite simply when emotion finds its way through the gloom and doom we get singles that rock and pop with a perfect balance of nostalgia and modern tweaks.

A special note must be made regarding the song All Those Moments. Unquestionably the most different tune on the album, it is as if She Wants Revenge decided to channel Vangelis for one song and one song only. Surprisingly, however it works very, very well and proves the band can be absolutely amazing when we least expect it. Now if only the band had taken more chances, incorporated a greater variation in influences, and maintained the detached arrogance they still manage to nail whenever necessary then This is Forever could have been awesome. Sadly, however their DM/Joy Division fascination as is has already grown tired and when left alone to motor She Wants Revenge it stalls the album just when it needs the biggest boost.

Best Songs: All Those Momemts, Rachel, Checking Out, Written in Blood