"All of you who think that those crybaby rich kids in the Strokes are 'gonna save rock n roll'; or some bullshit need to suck on a real rock n' roll record by the name of PLEASURE FOR-FUCKING-EVER. The same people that brought you The VSS (minus Sonny Kay) and Slaves (same band just a different name, don't get confused) bring you these ten songs of pure rock lust. This band does everything right, great live show, great lyrics, great artwork (the best this year), great attitude, great imagery, and most importantly... great songs. I can't recommend this enough. A+ boys! "
-Travis Keller, buddyhead.com"Although the album may seem miles removed from the nihilist transgression of The VSS's Nervous Circuits (seriously, one of the most genius recordings of the '90s, and in this writer's all-time Top 10) or the downward spiral of Slaves' The Devil's Pleasures (nearly as brilliant), it's not entirely too removed, as Pleasure Forever wander down a similarly swamp-entrenched gutter, however overtly different in its austerity. ...few albums are this close to perfect. "
-Nathan T. Birk, ink19.com"San Francisco's Pleasure Forever... has perfected the sonic-death three-way. Keyboardist/singer Andrew Rothbard lays down the sleaze-glam feel with falling-down vocal drama, only to be propped up by David Clifford's near-tribal drumbeats and Joshua Hughes' elongated, single-string guitar lines. "
-Matthew Fritch, magnetmagazine.com"With battle-cry vocals rooted in the West Coast hardcore scene of the early '90s, and hooks and melodies that fuse '70s metal rock with classic rock, Pleasure Forever, the self-titled debut by the San Francisco trio, sends your heartbeat straight into your abdomen... For most of the album the three seem unsure whether to rock your pants off or just get it on with you, but you know you're guaranteed a good time, whichever they decide." (4 of 5 stars)
-Laura Schooling, Pulse, 7/01"The record is improbably constructed from blues piano, prog-rock synthesizer, indie-rock minimalist guitar solos, melodies slightly peppier than (but nearly as ominous as) the Bad Seeds' mid-'80s work, Mick Jagger phrasing, stately shuffle-drumming, and just a whole bag full of other things that maybe shouldn't work when you nail them all together . . . but somehow it parses. Don't ask me how. I've spun this record 10 times and I still can't decipher the code... Unquestionably this is an album for late nights, but that only seems fair; undoubtedly, it's an album that emerged from late nights. "
-Eric Wagoneer, Phoenix New Times, 7/05/01"This group's Sub Pop debut is a smarmy cabaret in celebration of life lived in licentious excess. Comprising former members of the VSS, a vein-scraping precursor to "emo" that found a few lucky fans, and then known as the Slaves, Pleasure Forever melds the sperm circus of the Doors, Freddie Mercury's swank flash, a Swans-flavored darkness, and the balls-out smashing panache of the Iggy/Ziggy years. With keys, drums, guitar, and very little else (a bass here and there, a zither) these songs unspool as if from a warped freak-house player piano cranked to 11. Yet instead of spooking us away, the decadent music that rolls out is undeniably infectious. "
-David Karpel, New Times Broward, 7/19/01"Pleasure Forever is an overindulgent feast of sin. Ten depraved songs gorging in organ powered, nightmare rock. Andrew Rothbards vocals are passionate like the touch of strange hands in a violating place. Polluted thoughts, dribbling wine. Heavy, pendulous, carnival of hell type of spewings, ladden with funeral candle wax. The mallady of it reminds me a little of Mr. Bungle, eats Faith No More, eats Inspiral Carpets. Rothbard is equally exceptional in his silent movie type, piano progressions. David CliffordÕs drumming shouts cavernously loud whispers into the dark background, keeping a blazingly uncouth waltz time signature. Joshua HughesÕ guitar riffs bequeath unto us the secrets of the ominous damned. Combined, their sound looks deep in through your soul with uncomfortable anxiousness and a sexy villainy." (4 of 4 stars)
-Ma-cl, bostonsoundcheck.com"[T]he band plays dark, theatrical music that recalls some of the dark moodiness of the VSS, but at the same time spotlights the band's ability to rock out with as much attitude as anyone around right now. Singer/pianist Andrew Rothbard leads the band through ten songs with his theatrical, preachy vocal delivery, while guitarist Joshua Hughes flexes his muscles with crazy, squealing guitar parts and dense layers of noise. The trio claims to "share an excessive appetite for life," and this self-titled release does much to prove the veracity of their statement. "
-Mike Conklin, basement-life.com"Listening to this album, I close my eyes and imagine a dark, candlelit stage with thespians dramatically spinning around and sliding across it. With each song change, there's a set change and, although it's always dark, a mood change. Sometimes, there's a quiet, lovely solo act under the spotlight; at other times, the whole cast is dancing wickedly about the stage. Lacking the dreariness of most dark-sided bands, Pleasure Forever's sound feels like guilty pleasure Ñ like you gave in to evil temptation. "
-Jenny Tatone, neumu.com"The album oozes with raw sexual energy and apocalyptic gloom. Bluesy, doomsday piano melodies and foreboding, death-march percussion race toward Armageddon as weÕre introduced to greedy and excessive characters aware of the consequences of their actions. The 'sugar spun and whiskey sick' sailors of the 7-minute fantastic voyage 'Any Port In A Storm' repeatedly lament about 'All the things IÕve lost in search of gold.' And lyrics like 'When youÕre learning to burn out fast, might as well do it with smashing panache' ('Goodnight') and 'This is the land of the lost' ('Bullets') capture the mindset of heathens on the brink of destruction.'
-Dave Powers, 3wk.com"By charging their songs with both good and bad sexual energy, the swagger of fulfillment, the elation of finding a taboo happiness, and also the slick slide into dissipation, Pleasure Forever have created a testament to the possibilities of life and to the limits of the human frame. "
-Reed Jackson, Unpop.com"In stark contrast to the majority of generic indie-rock bands, Pleasure Forever is exceedingly grandiose and ambitious, and this album is a refreshing change of pace from the usual self-loathing and insecurity that purveyors of the genre usually serve up... It may be the most effective combination of theatrics and classic-rock constructions since vintage Alice Cooper or David Bowie."
- Joe S. Harrington, Cleveland Scene (5/31/01)" The band creates its discordant post-punk high drama by melding gothic moodiness, a surreal cabaret flair, taunt rock dynamics, a tinge of psychedelia and primitive tribalism. Its self-titled debut will appeal to fans of Nick Cave, with keyboardist/vocalist Andrew Rothbard spinning lecherous tales where deeply unsettling lyrical imagery alternates with brazen declaratives."
- Tad Hendrickson, CMJ New Music Report (5/28/01)"Pleasure Forever is the trioÕs best excursion into its darker side, be it through the creepy combination of a plodding guitar thick with distortion and pristine piano sounds ('Curtain Call for a Whispering Ghost') or with spacious arrangements that pit lonely melodies against a wave of horror-movie organs ('Opalescence'). ThereÕs still enough room for the band to get down and unleash a tidal wave of guitars, though theyÕre beautifully counterbalanced against its more haunting side ('Any Port in a Storm')."
- Aversion.com (6/6/01)"Since I have received this in the mail it's been the only thing I've been listening to. In fact, I listened to is about 10 times in a row right away. This is, amazing. It's been since OK Computer that I've enjoyed an album this much."
- Killdarling.com (6/10/01)"Skulking with a piano line found in the recesses of a derelict cabaret, [Pleasure Forever] opens with an opiate farewell shrouded in vague mutterings, shimmering cymbals, and inebriated guitar lines. Andy Rothbard's voice skims through 'Goodnight' with lazy glam-rock indulgence, like the philosophical drunk at the end of the bar whose eloquence and elegance is tempered by unpredictable violence. 'Any Port in the Storm' offers the aural promise of frivolous good fun, with T. Rex hooks and calliope strains, just before plunging into the well-organized madness of a man driven to the edge of possibility. And that's just the beginning."
- Silke Tudor, SF Weekly[record release show (6/9/01):]
"The band thrived on repetitive drones that built to a break; they said a ton with as little as possible, delivering no less than three absolutely brilliant moments of tension and release with well-placed chords, textured breakdowns, and minimalist lyrics that read like the poetry of someone shut in a basement. This was uneasy listening music in a world of stupefying staleness, and it was good beyond even our wildest hopes."
- John O'Neill, SF Bay Guardian (6/13/01)
