After a sustained burst of activity throughout the latter half of the '90s,
the Spider Rockets suddenly disappeared from the scene after the release of 2000's
Flipped Off. Only one 2003 EP followed in the intervening years until the release of 2007's
Ever After. The Spider Rockets' primary attraction, Helena Cos' great punky howl of a voice, is as good as ever here. Between whispery power ballads like "Whispers" and more aggressive material like the riff-heavy rocker "Too Far," Cos shows an excellent sense of dynamics without relying overmuch on her sultry lower range. Musically, the album is a slight updating of
Pat Benatar's poppy hard rock, punked up a bit for the
Yeah Yeah Yeahs generation but with its heart in the back seat of a 1981 Camaro parked behind the mall. The cover of
the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" is just as bad as the idea sounds on paper, but other than that misstep,
Ever After is a welcome return. ~ Stewart Mason