She survives, but we're not arrested

Joan as Police Woman

To Survive (Cheap Lullaby)

ESSENTIAL "To America"

"Are you not furious enough?," Joan Wasser wonders repeatedly on "Furious," as tightly syncopated handclaps and out-of-tune piano trills heighten the musical tension. Truth be told, Wasser, better known as Joan as Police Woman, isn't very furious herself anymore. Her new album, "To Survive," swaps out the rock momentum of last year's "Real Life" and replaces it with piano-driven ballads and quiet-storm synthesizers. The trade is uneven, one not best suited to Wasser's talents. Its title notwithstanding, "To Survive" is JAPW's happy-in-love album, and the lack of tension - romantic, musical, or otherwise -causes it to drag. Soppy horns and bland synth riffs are little help, either. A few songs brighten the happy-go-lucky gloom; "To America," a duet with Rufus Wainwright, utilizes its horn section to good effect. "Real Life" was a slow burner, an album that revealed its extensive charms over time; "To Survive," unfortunately, just fizzles.

Joan as Police Woman plays at the Middle East Upstairs Sep. 24.