Fuck yeah. I live for records like this. The tunes are fast, snotty as hell, impassioned, and stick in your head for days. The lyrics are clever and charming, yet poignant at the same time. But really, the whole thing is more than the sum of its commendable parts, which add up to make Revenge for Hire one of the best and most addicting records I've heard in ages.
For Science hail from the pop-punk Avalon of New Jersey, home to such bands as heavyweight champs Lifetime and contemporary contenders The Ergs. But For Science have one of the most distinctive and unique sounds of any of the current crop of pop-punk true believers: they've got a speedy but melancholy temper worthy of the heroic Connie Dungs and an absolutely brilliant lead singer in John Slover, who's got a raggedly tuneful voice that's actually a little reminiscent of classic Bob Mould. At times they even give me a little bit of a Broadways feeling, but sans some of the sociopolitical strenuousness: For Science is more concerned with the politics of romance, and of course the evergreen pop-punk touchstone of odes to movie starlets.
Cinematic opener "Leeloo" hits with all the subtlety of a Jack Dempsey right hook - it's honestly probably one of the best pop-punk songs I've ever heard. "Brains vs. Balls" follows with a superglue melody and a great lyric: "Higher I.Q. / Cultured up the ass / Still don't have a clue / Always come in last / Never gonna win / Always gonna lose." "In the Movies" delivers a killer anthem that gets extra points for longing after film characters rather than just actresses, with a huge bonus for its somewhat strange choices: Confederate siren Scarlett O'Hara, Jordan Two Delta from The Island, and Basic Instinct femme fatale Catherine Tramell. (I would've included Veronica Sawyer, but that's splitting hairs.) It's an effective analogy too, with the universal theme of unrequited love given a new perspective by the trope of being smitten with a fictional character.
The high points are many: the delightful one-two kiss-off of "Ribbons" and "Cindy", which is followed by the surprising and affecting piano interlude of "Tara" (which I momentarily hoped might be a paean to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer character). "Fenway Lights" reads like a second cousin to "Chesterfield King", without ever pausing to let you catch your breath. Closer "Schoolboy" lands a knockout blow with the solid gold line "College ain't on my agenda / Cause I've got a two year bender to attend to." If I had any criticism with this album, it's that they should've included the awesome song "Carbona Not You" that's on their MySpace. Buy this record now.
