Daily Sundial
In the aisles of a packed Amoeba Music, nearly 1200 fans sang along to the music of two former DJs from L.A., while hundreds more waited outside, according to Daniel Tures, floor manager at Amoeba.?
She Wants Revenge performed?live at the? Hollywood music store Tuesday night in celebration of?the release of their new self-titled album and the premiere of the?music video “Tear You Apart” on MTV.
When so many male singers today choose to sing in near falsetto, Justin Warfield’s exaggeratedly bassy voice immediately calls to mind similarities to the band Interpol. In fact, comparisons of this band to Interpol have been endless. But nothing is entirely new, this is just another resurrection of throaty post-punk rock.?
“Interpol don’t sound like themselves either,” saisdTures. “They also take from Joy Division and Bauhaus, but I like the revival. This is nice-it’s interesting, dark and danceable.”
She Wants Revenge is less glossy and progressive than Interpol, but don’t let its simplicity fool you. The edges are rougher, the keyboards lead to darker places, and Warfield’s voice live maintains its fathomless drone better than the synthesized vocals of Interpol’s?Paul Banks, even when a little forced.?
“I heard their song on KROQ and thought?(the show)?would be interesting,” said audience member Crystil Siliceo, 21, stylist. “Some of the music is redundant, but it’s good altogether. They’re good, they put on a good show.”
At one point during the performance at Amoeba, Warfield grabbed the mic pole and jerked his shoulders from side to side prompting the audience to move easily along with the band.
While some of the hooks are too easy, too predictable, slipping into?a repetitious hum?now and then, the songs and album are effective as a whole, especially as a dance album.
This music comes from the frame of mind of a self-destructive person aware of his unhealthy actions, but does them in spite of that knowledge.
“He knew he should leave, that?this could only turn cold,” he sings again on Sister. The rest of the story unfolds to his impending doom.?On many of the tracks he sings of meeting women he knows he should stay away from, but compel him to stay the most. The stories comprise the debut album from the duo’s effort.
Like the nameless protagonist in McInerney’s “Bright Lights, Big City,” one can sense the desire of a?man hoping to meet the type of?woman who would never hang out in the midst of?such a?decadent scene, but this hope we find out is futile. Even when he meets the right woman, it still doesn’t work. “Right face, wrong time,” he sings on “I Don’t Wanna Fall in Love.”
Justin Warfield and Adam Brown call Los Angeles their home. They were enthused to bring their music back home and play in a setting that had been so important to them.
“This is an integral part of the making of this record,” says Justin in between songs, pointing to the record section?as he reminisces on how he and his partner Adam Brown used to shop at Amoeba for records and spin.
This album might not be what you’d?expect coming from two former DJs, but the music is insatiably club friendly and danceable with its steady pulsating beats and moody, ear catching lyrics.
