Whip It On

by

The Raveonettes

Edit

The garage rock revival has gotten so much press the last year that critics have had to invent the term New Garage to keep track of bands like The Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. But before you decide to jump off this already overhyped bandwagon and go searching for the next big thing you should definitely check out The Raveonettes. The band consists of Sune Wagner (ex-Psyched Up Janis) and Sharin Foo and according to Rolling Stone's David Fricke they are:

"not only Denmark's hot gift to the New Garage. They make tight blazing pop of the top order, the kind that can quickly become a personal passion -- and a radio phenomenon".

Not bad for a couple of kids from Copenhagen.

Earlier this year the Danish duo released the EP Whip It On, which is now available outside of Denmark, and there has been a buzz surrounding the band ever since. The eight track EP clocks in at a hectic 21 minutes and combines the noise of The Jesus and Mary Chain and the power of The Ramones with cool sounding melodies. Every song has a wall of fuzz-guitars and loud drums, but the thing that lifts the songs is the blend of Wagner's dark voice with Foo's seductive harmonies. The duo usually sings in a monotonous style with a lot of tight harmonies, which makes them stand out from the rest of the garage bands. And when Sharin Foo sings in that breathy femme fatale-like voice in the chorus of Veronica Fever it'll make the hairs on your arms stand up straight. Other highlights include opener Attack of the Ghost Riders (which sounds like The Jesus and Mary Chain sprinkled with Dick Dale guitars) and the anthem-like Cops on our Tail, which will have you screaming Going Fast That's The Way We Go in no time. And the EP's closer Beat City has tempo and badass lyrics, which will leave you wanting more. The only miss among the eight tracks is Bowels of the Beast, which is a lot slower than the rest of the songs and sounds too much like Black Sabbath.

The Raveonettes are touring Scandinavia this fall with a one-off gig in London in September and has since the release of Whip It On recorded three tracks with producer Richard Gottherer (who produced early Blondie, Richard Hell, and The Go-Go's records), which will probably appear on a full length album next year. But until then you'd be well-advised to check out this roaring debut from the hottest Scandinavian act since The Hives. This is your shot at checking them out before they get huge.

Review appeared originally at blogcritics.com

Distorted punk-pop-rock, with an eerie 50s-style cover and a small number of short, hard-hitting songs. Either it's a pretentious waste, or a glimpse of future excellent music -- for the Raveonettes' "Whip It On," it's a little hard to tell just what it is. Taken alone, "Whip" is a fairly interesting rock CD.

Starting with a piercing electronic screech, "Attack of the Ghost Riders" is a steady track, followed by the more flowing "Veronica Fever," the siren-filled "Cops on Our Tail," the heavy-thumping "Do You Believe Her," the rocking "My Tornado" with its haunting whispers, and a few others.

Comparisons to the White Stripes may be the wrong thing to listen to; the Raveonettes sound quite different from the Stripes. They don't have the flexibility or versatility; the songs are a lot more monotonous musically, as many of them seem alike. It's also very short -- only eight songs, and most of them are about three minutes or less.

Despite this, the music is fairly raw and dark, but broodingly danceable. The distorted, slightly vocals seem to blend in with the whirling guitar feedback, and the songwriting has the same dark quality as the music, sometimes well-written and sometimes just repetitive. ("Delinquent girl/and all her angels on death row") The words dwell on darkness, crime, Vegas lights, and catching rays off the sun.

The Raveonettes may be the next big thing, or they may not. "Whip It On" is a nice diversion but gives only some hints of what may be ahead for the Danish duo. A nice (if short) listen.