The Raveonettes Lust Lust Lust
Vice
Despite several albums of steady creative progression, the Raveonettes’ have never strayed too far from the mission statement laid out in their 2002 debut single-- the distortion-heavy, two-chord heart-racer “Attack of the Ghost Riders.” Even 2005’s more expansive Pretty In Black LP saw the band hanging out in the same general neighborhood, somewhere between a ‘50s film-noir and an early ‘60s surf movie—and consequently right next door to their '80s heroes, The Jesus and Mary Chain.
It should come as little surprise, then, that Lust Lust Lust—complete with 3D cover art—taps into that cinematic, retro vein once again. Coming on a bit like the Danish equivalents of Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, Sune Rose Wagner (guitar, electronics, vocals) and Sharin Foo (singer, bass chick) exude all the best qualities of old school hipster coolness, laying a blanket of drone over Phil Spector style harmonies and drum thuds-- and singing about carnal desires with passionless detachment. If there is a significant development here, it's that the Raveonettes have managed to return to their earlier, grittier roots while crafting a much stronger, less repetitive batch of songs. “Dead Sound” and “You Want the Candy” stand toe to toe with past singles “Ghost Riders” and “Love In a Trashcan” as perfect, shadowy, neo-surf rave-ups, while “Lust” channels its lonesome Duane Eddy twang through an ominous, fuzzed-out amplifier.
The Raveonettes can and probably always will be accused of parroting the JAMC, but, at the risk of being sac-religious, these imitators might actually be more consistently enjoyable than the originals.
(Andrew Clayman)
Published in The Scene, February 2008
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