Soft & The Hardcore

I don't believe that love can save the world, but I think tenderness might have a chance, says Melanie Valera, the throbbing heart and head philosopher of the solo band, Tender Forever, and a native of France recently transplanted to Olympia, WA. Though a native in the language of love, Valera skips the French and goes straight for the English jugular on this debut full-length, with twelve songs that spell out the ups and downs of FEELING IT, in capitalized and crushing detail. Her lyrics are fearless; the raw directness of her wording matches the raw quality of the accompanying music. Gently aching acoustic guitar songs alternate with elaborately exploding multi-track concoctions: vocal harmonies sandwich up with synthesizers, lay themselves down softly on layers of singing girls, then get pounded with live and machine drums. There's an undeniable power to Valera's energy that supports her philosophy: there really is something special about letting oneself be revealed.