The Raveonettes - 'Whip It On' (Columbia)
3/5
By: Toby L
From the moment you look deep into bassist/vocalist Sharin Foo's eyes, you're immediately fighting for survival; and the instance you glare at guitarist/singer Sune Rose Wagner's inconceivably sharp sense of dress and gently towering mound of carefully-engineered hair, you're hooked. Yes, The Raveonettes are garage-rock's long-awaited, steely-stared antidote to all-out enjoyment - for, within the love of this Danish duo's messy art, comes the scary notion that you may never be the same again...
Right, well, that's the moody bit out of the way. Whatever way you care to analyse the merits of latest, Scandinavian guitar-heroes Wagner and Foo, at least they've got the package right; Sharin's timeless, blonde-bombshell cut, Sune Rose's obtrusive intensity, and accompanying artwork that is not so much retro as it is sheer scary. It's almost as if they're forming a gothic subsidiary-genre, melding the moody extravagance of The Mary Chain with the eye/ear-pleasing dynamics of a classic new-wave act.
Yet, whatever the intention, 'Whip It On' is by all means a welcome introduction, if distressingly brief. The opening 'Attack Of The Ghost Riders' may prove the gratuitous, though no less sumptuous, token airplay-friendly stomper, and the rest of the work follows suit, only adapting the formula generally to add startlingly rock 'n' roll and politically-unadvisable sentiments (namely - blimey - the idea to drink and drive in the same evening), or to simply freak the living crap out of whoever's twisted enough to listen - 'My Tornado' enchantingly demonic, 'Do You Believe Her' devastatingly infectious and the closing 'Beat City' a rousing noise-feast in every respect.
Whilst notably lacking variation, 'Whip...' is a wake-up call to all those endeavouring to unsuccessfully and contritely 'do' eclectic for the sake of it; The Raveonettes know themselves and know their sound, and rarely see the point in compromising what they're aware of as an already winning formula. It's now time you get to know them - even if it may ensue a frightful experience.
Artists in this article: The Raveonettes
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