She Wants Revenge - She Wants Revenge album review

She Wants Revenge - She Wants Revenge

The 80s eh? Who ever thought the decade that bred the synthesizer would ever make a comeback? I, for one, did not; predicting any kind of return to the age of New Romantics and electronic pop records to be an event that could only result in more examples of drab, and frankly embarrassing electro tunes. Then came The Strokes, Bloc Party, and Interpol, who bunched my words into bite sized chunks and force-fed them to me in turn. I have seen what synth can do, and I like it.

So why was I so convinced it wouldnt work? What was I expecting? Why did I think a 80s revival would be so banal? Thankfully, I dont have to wrack my brains for an answer, as She Wants Revenge have put together 14 tracks of uninspired beats that encapsulate precisely what I thought back then.

As the album begins it sounds like someone messing about with a Casio in year 8 music class, with wooden, soulless electronic hi-hat and snare sounds driving a repetitive guitar riff (with eerie drifty effect). The vocals are even less interesting, drawling along like Interpols Paul Banks with a mouthful of dentists anesthetic. Track after track I sit bored waiting for a hook or an interesting lyric to grab me, but it never does. I enjoy the 2 minutes 30 seconds of Disconnect but only because those dreary vocals are absent and it sounds a bit like a vastly superior Opeth song.

The more I listen to She Wants Revenge the less I see any point in it even existing, as it provides us with nothing new in terms of genre or even innovation within a genre. There is absolutely no need for fans of the genre to spend good money on this toss whilst the likes of Joy Division, Depeche Mode and The Pet Shop Boys still line the shelves of the rock and pop section.

Quite how Tear You Apart managed to top LAs Kroq Radio chart for 14 weeks is beyond me. Admittedly this track has more to it than any other on the album (the vocals wander off the normal monotone), but its still repetitive and ultimately irritating. Black Liner Run is an excellent end to the album, ensuring that if you havent already grown tired of this drivel youll definitely snap it out of the CD player before the pretentious 51 tracks of silence and secret bonus track force themselves upon you.

Do yourself a favour, demand that this review is taken off this site immediately and do your best to erase all knowledge of this albums existence. If only that thing from Men in Black was real.

2 out of 10

www.shewantsrevenge.com

24 Jul 2006 by Matt S.

Three Day Benda - Sounds of the Suburbs LP review

Three Day Benda - Sounds of the Suburbs LP review.
Originally published at: http://www.the-mag.me.uk/?ArticleId=1157

Seeing Three Day Benda live (as I did at their recent album launch party at the Wedgewood Rooms) is always a lot of fun. The performances regularly contain more energy than the other bands combined and they seem to genuinely enjoy what they do. The release of their debut album entitled "Sounds of the Suburbs" is an opportunity to dissect the music separately from the stage show, something I have to do after enjoying their live shows so much.

First of all I think it's important to define the genre we're dealing with here. It isn't punk, it isn't rock, it isn't ska, but more of an amalgamation of these and several other sub-genres. Rather than emulating their heroes as many up and coming bands tend to do, Three Day Benda have managed to create their own brand of ska-punk-rock that is more interesting than ska and less pretentious than emo whilst harnessing the best elements of both. The title track, "The Understanding", and "MRV" demonstrate TDB's rock foundations that underpin every track on the album, with the hooks and grooves provided by the brass section.

The sleazy porn soundtrack anthem "Conscious, But No Conscience" has a brass riff that is used minimally but to great effect. In great contrast to this is the infectious hook in "Elements of Confusion", supported by a fantastically atmospheric bridge section that changes the feel of the tune before a chorus that verges on fist-clenching epic-ness. Live favourite "Matter of Decision" is a skanktastic track seemingly specifically designed to get people dancing around at the end of a gig, or in this case their living room.

These examples serve to illustrate where Three Day Benda's strengths lie. By combining several different genres TDB are able to construct songs that aren't bound by conventions of one specific genre, resulting in an album that is surprisingly diverse for what could be construed at first glance as 'just another ska band'.

What separates them from this potential tarring is the ethic that seems to drive the band, namely the mission to create songs that sound good above all else. Nowhere on this CD can we hear an individual attempting to emulate his heroes or going overboard with intricate fills on his instrument. Each member of the band does what is required and nothing more, which makes for a product greater than the sum of its parts.

Not that the parts are all that bad either, as the flawless performances on the recording demonstrate. The Old Blacksmiths studio staff have done a good job of mixing too, with the overall sound of the album deserving of the distribution deal attached to it. It all sounds great from start to finish, both in terms of sound quality and song writing.

As with the album launch party performance, there really is no bad track on 'Sounds of the Suburbs' and there is plenty here to appeal to fans of any of the aforementioned genres. Finally I have company in my CD collection for the Mad Caddies' 'Quality Soft Core'. The question is 'which is better?' I honestly couldn't choose right now.

Matt S.

Love Is All- Nine Times That Same Song album review

Love Is All- Nine Times That Same Song
Originally published at http://www.disordermagazine.com/article.php?id=309

Calling your CD ‘Nine Times That Same Song’ could be seen by many as tempting fate. It’s just begging to be palmed off as a pun by some lazy music journalist eager to take advantage of any snappy taglines that might offer themselves up. I’ll admit I considered it, because there are many elements of Love Is All’s tunes that sound the same, but then I reckon it’s OK for bands to occasionally sound like themselves. Also, there are ten tracks on the album rather than nine, so it would never work anyway.

Upon first listen Love Is All are confusing. The beats hop about like mad and the vocals are layered with generous dollops of reverb that harks to ska and dub influences. To be blunt, it sounds messy. A few more listens reveal my mistake however, as this is not the kind of music to be enjoyed sitting down with headphones on. To get the most out of LIA one must crank it up on a decent sound system and dance about like a released loony.

Most are aware of the reaction Madness’ ‘Baggy Trousers’ gets when played at a rock club, as well as how sweaty most people end up after thrashing about to Razorlight. Well take the freestyle trumpet and vocal style from the former and the driven, aggressive guitars of the latter and you’ve got the essence of LIA. Opener ‘Talk Talk Talk Talk’ establishes the band’s desire to be your freak-out soundtrack with its raw, cracked style and The Rapture-esque epic guitar sound. ‘Aging Had Never Been His Friend’ was tailor made to be marched to in that uber-cool jerky way ‘scene’ people do, and in this case you may even catch the ‘too cool to dance’ crowd unable to control their feet, legs, arms, and head.

Dancing amateurs beware however, as you will need more than one move in your stuff-strutting arsenal to jive along with all 30 minutes 39 seconds on offer here. ‘Turn the Radio Off’, ‘Make Out Fall Out Make Up’, ‘Felt Tip’, and ‘Turn the TV Off’ will all require something a bit more contained on the dance floor. I recommend the Karen O vogue influenced style or perhaps the Arcade Fire ‘stand around staring at the ceiling completely absorbed by the bassline’. Either will do just fine.

If dance impulse allows take a bit of time out to appreciate the female singer’s expertise. The Swedish accent means many ‘s’ sounds are pronounced as ‘shh’, making for a vocal style full of Scandinavian charm. This is an album that improves with every listen, and is thus deserving of your investment and time.

8 out of 10

Released 3rd July on Parlophone

3 Jul 2006 by Matt S