This Is Forever

iTunes Review

From the opening primitive synth notes of the album’s foreboding instrumental intro, “First, Love,” it’s clear that She Wants Revenge are circling the dark paths of ‘80s Goth with an expert ear for recreation. It’s as if they took the criticisms of their debut album being ‘too derivative’ to heart and decided to show the world a true derivative. As the pulsing notes of the follow-up “Written in Blood” descend and Justin Warfield’s catatonic Ian Curtis / Joy Division tribute begins, it’s time to check if that’s really a 2007 copyright on this material, since this couldn’t sound closer to the turn of the 80s, Manchester, England style. Yet Warfield and Adam Bravin, the duo responsible, reside in sunny California, where it never rains or at least never approaches the misty fog that heightens this homage to British soundscapes. The beats are deliberately cheap and robotic. The vocals drip with faux British accents. The guitars shred in metallic sheets and the keyboards are fat and ominous. Yet, the songs work and She Wants Revenge seem determined to mine this sound until it’s theirs alone.