Lust Lust Lust

 

 

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If you don't have chills listening to "Hallucinations" and "Dead Sound," do you have a pulse? The Raveonettes have gone for a more spooky stripped down sound on this album and it works. Maybe not as great as on Pretty in Black but it's a nice change of pace without losing that unique fuzztone Raveonettes' pop sound.

In case you did not catch them live on this tour, they are now a three-piece and the drummer is basically just playing a snare and a cymbal. It does work--trust me.

This Danish band, now reduced to a duo of Sune Rose Wagner (on guitar, instruments and vocals) and Sharin Foo (on bass and vocals) were much hyped on their arrival in 2002 when they released an album built entirely around the key of B- flat minor.
Freed from their major label deal with Sony and now released on UK indie label Fierce Panda, The Raveonettes, bring the distinctly different sounds of their previous two albums together on this their third CD which makes a strong case for lower recording budgets.
"Lust Lust Lust" combines their electro-fuzz sound, close harmony and a more mature set of songs.
Despite the album being (self) recorded without live drums or bass, the feel is not minimal.
Sharin Foo, the lead singer, has been called one of the hottest women in rock and she sustains the interest in what is effectively a set of demos pretty well.
Making music as dark, fuzzed-up and shimmering as the Velvet Underground, Jesus and Mary Chain, Lush and Suicide, this shoddy set of demos is nonetheless their most exciting collection, with tunes such as "Blush" and "You Want the Candy".
There are a few more notes explored here but The Raveonettes' song structure is still a simple one (layers of guitar noise plus pounding drums and sweet vocals).
It works a treat on the nice "Hallucinations" and the rather predictable "Blush", which are both wonderful 60s pop songs cut through with chiming, discordant, ear-piercing feedback, while "The Beat Dies" is pure Twin Peaks camp.
Though things pall a bit towards the end, there's enough bad-dream melodrama to keep it going until then.
The line "I fell in love in heaven to be with you in hell" typifies the album's doomed-lovers theme in the droning, hypnotic song "Lust", and the eastern-influenced "Aly Walk with Me" is as queasy as it's pretty.
With its themes of death, sex and desire, this is the perfect alt-rock soundtrack for fatalist bikers.
Standout Tracks : "Aly Walk With Me" and "You Want The Candy".

The Raveonettes made me very, VERY nervous in their last album. It was poppier and smoother than their past noisy, fuzzy rock'n'roll. I was afraid they were losing their edge.

Well, fortunately they haven't. Now attached to Fierce Panda, the Danish band turns "Lust Lust Lust" into a sensual, stormy blend of pop and fierce, eerie fuzz-rock -- basically all their sounds thus far. And with a title like that, you know it'll be sexy and dark in its tones.

A flicker of ringing keyboard, bells, and a slow steady beat and slow retro riff. "Aly, walk with me in the summer/Aly walk with me/Aly walk with me in Portland," Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner sing together. Their meandering song of dreams, walking, cities and summertime are interrupted by spurts of ringing, fuzzy guitar, as if the instruments are determined to have the spotlight.

They strike a softer chord with the eerie, tinny-ringing "Hallucinations," before launching into a series of similar songs -- there's lots of raw, stormy rockers tinged with sparkles and quiet moments, and sensual retro ballads that sound like they were lifted from an urban neo-noir movie.

There's even a few pop songs, like the Velvet Undergroundian "You Want The Candy" -- as with the VU songs, methinks that title needs no translation. And like the VU, it's wrapped in layers of bouncy, fuzzy guitars.

"Lust Lust Lust" has much the same sound as "Chain Gang Of Love," the Raveonettes' second album. But this time around, they have more experience and polish -- and thankfully, less poppiness than the sprightly, radio-friendly "Pretty in Black." Thank God, Columbia is off their backs, their creativity is unchained and their older sound is back.

Their musical maturity can be heard in almost every song. Yeah, every one is shrouded in tinny, programmed drums and bass, with rough, blistering guitar tangled in fuzzy feedback. And they include occasional flickers of twinkly keyboard. But rather than sounding alike, little sonic flourishes and twists give them individual qualities -- some ("Expelled From Love") are haunting, some are raw, and some are poignant.

The weird factor isn't downplayed by Foo and Wagner's shared vocals. They pretty much always sing in unison, giving their vocals an odd androgynous sound. And their lyrics are pretty hard to make out, but there's a sly, randy quality to all the songs ("The dark comes bittersweet/Black loving pops/Come on, give me a dirty treat").

"Lust Lust Lust" is the album I've been waiting for the Raveonettes to make -- dark, fuzzy, dirty and managing to be both rough and polished. They finally got to make what suits them best.

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