Posted on: October 9, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Shock Cinema – Our Way Is Revenge / 2007 Kanine / 8 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/shockshockcinema / http://www.kkaninerecords.com /

What Shock Cinema does on their “Our Way Is Revenge”, and particularly during the opening track “Breathe Again”, is recall the goth rock of bands like Siouxie and the Banshees and the Sisters of Mercy. The punk-like tempo is the only derivation from that formula, and it is this blending together of styles that brings Shock Cinema from 1987 to 2007. The guitar work is another strong piece of this band, and provides another “high” to match with the “high” of the vocalist. “Breathe Again” represents the band’s first single, and will ensure that listeners stick around through “Art of Noir”. Shock Cinema approaches a much more sultry and Waitresses-like sound for “Art of Noir”.

The one thing that is not changed between the two tracks would have to be the radio friendliness of the band. Each of these tracks could easily  make it onto alternative rock radio without syncopation or other modifications. “New Threats” ratchets back up the speed while maintain the slower vocal stylings of “Art of Noir=. Of the tracks on “Our Way is Revenge”, “New Threats” seems to be the one that most closely approximates the current period. The use of a rockabilly like guitar line at point, plus the alternative leanings of the rest of the band, make this into what could conceivably be the band’s crossover hit. Shock Cinema move back to the eyeliner and black clothes style for “Howling Door (Evasion)”. In this track, hints of 45 Grave and Bauhaus show up. Shock Cinema succeed throughout the entirety of “Our Way is Revenge” because they clove all bases of goth music. While the band is so much more than a goth band, their nucleus remains in that style. It is the revision of that tepid genre that nets Shock Cinema their biggest hits on “Our Way is Revenge”.

Top Track: Aftr Hrs

Rating: 7.3/10

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