She Wants Revenge: Valleyheart
She Wants Revenge
Valleyheart
(Five Seven Music)
She Wants Revenge opens up with something different (semi-pleasant and refreshing), not a bang, but a melodic rhythm that makes you ask, is Ganesh getting fresh? “Take The World” gives you a new perspective on SWR – Indian ragas, dustup rhythms, and a strong proclamation of “We can take the world!” maybe a bit ambiguous, to be honest.
The overall feel of the album is mediocrity at best. The next track after “Take The World,” “Kiss Me,” is a sad version of Interpol mixed with The Killers. If She Wants Revenge have gained anything from age, it’s age itself. It’s sensitive calmed-down radio-friendly songs like “Kiss Me” that alarm me about bands. “Up In Flames” brings the choppy dark flames that fans remember and yearn for from 2007’s This Is Forever. The bright side of this album is the final honesty we get from the lyrics– are they in love? Are they out? Who knows, really. We ARE talking about a guy who did remixes for Crazy Town here.
“Maybe She’s Right” (the final track) is the golden boy here, which really brings us back to the self titled 2006 album – dark, honest, and more like Depeche Mode than any of the other tracks on Valleyheart. Each and every song here sounds like they were mimicking Interpol and The Killers– directly and exactly. A personal favorite off of this record is “Suck It Up.” Not because it reminds me of This Is Forever, but because of the production- it’s solid. The lyrics even resonate – “just because we’re over doesn’t mean I’m free.”
To sidetrack a little, I recently spent some time in Los Angeles, not the Valley, but Santa Monica and Venice and can see why this album was titled “Valleyheart.” It sets the mood for a drive down Sunset Boulevard to Hollywood Hills. It has that chillwave California mood, lyrics that would satisfy a west coaster, and a Valley Girl vibe– especially with tracks like “Not Just A Girl.” This is the perfect band for Los Angeles. Period.
If this proves anything, it proves that social media and the digital push plays the biggest and main role in the music industry in this day and age. Regardless that they have only about 5,000 Twitter followers and about 15,000 Facebook fans, this band has kept extremely active and engaging on the networks. She Wants Revenge can thank blogs, endless DJ gigs at top billing venues, and Mark Zuckerberg for their success today. Overall, “Valleyheart” gets a 2.5/5.0. Radio-friendly rock here we come.