We Want Revenge
Over at the mass-market music stores like Sam Goody and FYE, the “Best-Seller” lists are occupied by those finger-puppets artists you’d expect to hear on KISS 106.1 or KUBE 93 (i.e. Black-Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson, Jamie Foxx).
Meanwhile, at Seattle’s two most successful indie-music shops, Easy Street Records (West Seattle, Queen Anne), and Sonic Boom Records (Ballard, Capitol Hill, Fremont), they too maintain Top-Seller lists—along with earthy atmospheres, scruffy sales clerks (many of whom are musicians themselves), and expansive collections of music having nothing to do with cell-phone commercials.
Updated weekly, the lists for both Easy Street and Sonic Boom currently show Cat Power’s “The Greatest”, and Belle & Sebastian’s “Life Pursuit” dominating the number-one and two spots across the board. Seattlest could tell you why these albums hold the top spots (um, they’re magnificent!), but we’d rather take this opportunity to warn tell you about another top-selling album: The self-titled debut from mega-hyped L.A. band, She Wants Revenge.
Starring Justin Warfield and Adam Bravin (aka Adam 12), SWR have been dubbed the “new Interpol,” with every website from here to outer-space claiming that if you love bands like Joy Division, Bauhaus, or David Bowie, you’re going to love SWR. Now, Seattlest believes that there’s nothing wrong with musical influence. We’ll even forgive a lyrical theft from time to time, but when a band’s “influence” borders on unabashed parody, and said band does it with a straight face, it’s time to raise the flag.
That is not to say that this album is completely without merit. In fact, tracks like “I Don’t Wanna Fall in Love,” “Out of Control,” and “Monologue” contain beats that are guaranteed to engage the full-body toe-tap. The fun abruptly ends however, as the self-important and laughably obvious lyrics enter the scene. Consider for instance, the chorus for “Out of Control,” delivered in a voice straight from the 80’s goth-pop archives:
The lights that move sideways and up and down
The beat takes you over and spins you round
Our hearts steady beating, the sweat turns to cold
We’re slaves to the DJ and out of control…
Right. Simply put, if you’re the type who appreciates any amount of lyrical artistry, you will wish you’d saved your ten bucks for some beer and a taco. If you’re a teenager seeking some background noise while you defile your new ex-lover’s memorabilia, then perhaps this is for you.
Seattlest declaration: Interpol, they are not.
The Easy Street and Sonic Boom Top-Seller lists can present a useful means of checking the musical pulse of this city, but beware: Just because something’s selling well, doesn’t mean we’re buying it.
[She Wants Revenge will play a sold-out show March 12th at Neumo’s.]
