Once the hypnotic drum beat kicks in on “Aly, Walk with Me”, the opening track of the Raveonettes’ 3rd Studio Album Lust Lust Lust the Danish retro-rock two piece group begin yet another masterfully crafted act of misdirection. Guitarist Sune Rose Wagner and Bassist Sharin Foo both contribute vocals and utilize layers of swirling, mystifyingly simple melodies, rhythms, and their trademarked overpowering, mind-blowing, psychedelic guitar distortion to craft songs that are at once kitschy, dark and heartbreaking.
The Danish-Duo met in the capital city of Denmark, Copenhagen, in 2001 and over a mutual love of 50’s and 60’s linear rock song structures, formed the Raveonettes. Even their name is an homage to classic 50’s and 60’s artists. The “Rave” part of their name comes from Buddy Holly’s Rave On, and the “Onnetes” part comes from the Phil Spector produced girl group The Ronettes. The result of the pairs’ early collaborations is the debut EP Whip it On which featured songs that were all in B-flat minor and under 3 minutes. That album also won them the accolade “Best Rock Album” at the Danish Music Awards in 2003. The band was officially discovered by Rolling Stone editor David Fricke when the band played the SPOT festival in Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark. Fricke wrote a rave review hailing them as “The next wave of contemporary music” after which the group received offers from many major record labels.
The next project the duo embarked on was their 2003 full length debut entitled Chain Gang of Love. The group worked with legendary producer/songwriter Richard Gottehrer, who is the author of such classic rock songs as “My Boyfriend’s Back”, and “I Want Candy”. Wagner co-wrote the single “That Great Love Sound” with Gottehrer. That album continued in the tradition of the Whip it On EP had, with the exception of three songs, all tracks that were written in B-flat minor and all ran in under 3 minutes. The group’s next project would widen their musical horizons and include more collaboration with their rock idols.
The Raveonettes released Pretty in Black in 2005, which was a departure from their previous releases. Their trademarked Jesus and Mary Chain style distortion was nowhere to be found. Apparently, after touring extensively, Wagner found himself in London without all of his distortion apparatus and began to write songs that were very clean. After playing them back, he decided they actually sounded pretty good and pursued that style. The album also features guest instrumentals from legendary Suicide keyboardist Martin Rev and Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker.
The Raveonettes’ new album Lust Lust Lust is a return to their reverb drenched 50’s and 60’s “Troublegum” style rock sound. As the album unfolds its many layers, it becomes apparent that the songs are particularly darker than they have been on previous records. The feedback takes on a more ominous presence than in their previous tongue in cheek tales of dangerous love. The feel of longing hangs heavy in the hazy atmosphere and is the topic that Sune and Sharin croon about repeatedly. Even with the detached cool, some of the lyrics can hit surprisingly hard. The line “I fell out of heaven to be with you in hell” has real gravity. In general the songs work on building layers and reverb that rise and rise until they crest with pitch perfect surf rock riffs with an accent of the Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy distorted production style. The sublime example of this technique is how the song “Hallucinations” explodes at the 2:22 mark into the most satisfying backbeat thumping rock out on the album. The song “Dead Sound” is the saddest psychedelic go-go song I’ve ever heard, with lines like “And now you go through a million girls / And try to pick what’s right / When nightfall comes and you’re still alone / Do you feel it deep inside”, but it isn’t any less danceable. The most fun on the album is the song “You Want the Candy” with its veritable storm of sparkling feedback and restless energy that’ll have you saying “I’ll have what they’re having” in terms of Wagner and Foo’s choice of sweets. The album winds down toward the end. The pace slows and the waves of guitar distortion rise and fall before abruptly fading completely, a fitting end to a haunting album.
The Raveonettes – Hallucinations
The Raveonettes – You Want the Candy
Wesley is actively pursuing a human-like social life. If only we could all be so lucky. Here are some songs that I have been enjoying as of late.
I’ve started doing a weekly cartoon entitled “Wesley the Robot”. If you’re not familiar with the character simply look to the right of my header logo and there you’ll find the distinguished automaton.
