With clanking, Peter Hook-esque basslines, none-too-subtle song titles like "Out of Control" and "Tear You Apart," and Justin Warfield's Ian Curtis/Dave Gahan-inspired vocals, it's clear that She Wants Revenge is a loyal student of 1980s British post-punk and new wave. The duo plays its catchy, slightly dissolute songs to the accompaniment of impeccable-sounding period synthesizers and drum machines, a la Human League, and the influence of the pair's previous careers as L.A. DJs comes through in their flawless '80s club-land accents. An almost flawless recreation of its forebears, She Wants Revenge are more than competent enough to give a frisson to anyone for whom "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and "She's Lost Control" are still undiscovered pleasures.

Los Angeles Joy Division-obsessed duo She Wants Revenge blend electronic beats with goth pop misery on their self-titled Geffen debut. DJs Justin Warfield and Adam "Adam 12" Bravin may have crafted the post-punk equivalent of XTC alter-egos Dukes of Stratosphear's psychedelic rock tribute Chips from the Chocolate Fireball, but there is suspicion as to whether or not it was intentional. Like fellow reanimators Interpol, the Bravery, or even the mysterious Lansing-Dreiden, She Wants Revenge love early Depeche Mode, Bauhaus, and pre-Land of Rape and Honey Ministry, but what makes their impeccably crafted, highly listenable/danceable collection of angst so dubious is its utter duplicity. There's nothing wrong with honoring your influences by copping a few moves and singing in a fake British accent like Green Day with the intentions of updating a genre that many potential listeners are too young to have experienced first-hand, but it's another thing to do it without even the slightest deviation. ~ James Christopher Monger