The Raveonettes hold the distinction of being the last band whose CD I bought on the merit of a music video. That video, "Attack of the Ghost Riders" (above) was a slick (probably) copyright-infringing visual summation of their Wild One-meets-Psychocandy aesthetic. The accompanying EP, Whip It On, was pretty much stuck in the same gear, though, with nothing matching the peak of "Ghost Riders." I sat out the ensuing LP, Chain Gang of Love, and the 2005 follow-up, Pretty in Black, which I understand traded the Jesus and Mary Chain's love of feedback for their love of Phil Spector. The Raveonettes then presumably got cashiered by major label Columbia, another victim of post-Strokes hype, and had been largely unheard from since. Frankly, I'd assumed they'd broken up.
As it turns out, I was wrong: the Danish couple, Sune Rose Wagner (guitar/vocals) and Sharin Foo (bass/vocals), resurfaced on indie lifestyle brand/record label Vice with their third album, the unfortunately titled Lust Lust Lust, which dropped in the UK in late 2007, and has just seen release in the States. Laurie Anderson once said that "Now is the time, and now is the record of the time" - well, with A Place to Bury Strangers and The Magnetic Fields binging on distortion, it appears, as with Television, Joy Division, Brian Wilson, and Bruce Springsteen before them, JAMC's moment as the chic indie inspiration has arrived. The Raveonettes' faith thus rewarded, they delivered a great record, bringing the girl group-aping aspects of their sound into perfect balance with their enduring love of aural abrasion.
The biggest difference from Raveonettes mark 2002 and now is the obvious exuberance, which if memory serves, was formerly submerged beneath thick layers of ennui and icy detachment. Certainly the mean temperature of Lust Lust Lust is medium cool, but songs like "Blush" and "You Want the Candy" pop with a vibrancy that not only renders the highs higher, but brings the lows into sharper relief as well. The record has an emotional topography that may not matter much in this à la carte age of the iPod, but makes for a consistently engaging listen - no mean feat for a one-trick pony like the Raveonettes, no matter how neat the trick.
The Raveonettes - "Dead Sound":
