New Music: It's a Musical, Juliette C, The Raveonettes, The Acorn

(It's a Musical)

A million years later, I've finally gotten around to reviewing these tracks. (Kicks self several times). Enjoy the write-ups and downloads:

Download: It's a Musical - "Bad Day"

Lest you think that this is a cover, It's a Musical's "Bad Day" lets you know that there will be no Daniel Powter-style sad-sack moping by adding fey vocals and 8-bit electronic textures. There's a compelling mix of a Belle and Sebastian-style twee-pop, brushed drums, and synth, but then the song just ends. Was It's a Musical's "Bad Day" so bad that they had to leave the listener with musical blue balls?

Download: Juliette C - "Queens Die Proudly"

The former singer of Hello Stranger, and veritable goddess of the keyboard sounds like she's rocking many different synths here, not just ones that strap over your shoulders. As a result of that, along with some violins and a Specter-esque drumbeat, Commagere creates a catchy pop songs that ensures her a successful solo career.

Download: Nous Non Plus - "Fantôme Dur (Tuff Ghost)"

Speaking of synths, Nous Non Plus' latest track begins with a lot of them before settling into a film-noir-style guitar groove with a beat bordering on disco (un-tiss-uh-tiss). Taut, melodic, and very hummable.

Download: The Raveonettes - "Black White"

Lust Lust Lust is a favorite of mine this year, so naturally I went koo-koo for cocoa puffs when I saw this new track appear in my inbox. It's duet, with Sune Rose and Sharin Foo trading verses in the classic style. For about 2/3rds of the song, "Black White" doesn't suggest the leap forward in confidence and ability that Lust Lust Lust showed, but there's an awesome breakdown. Not bad by any means, but I can see why this was saved for an EP.

Download: The Acorn - "Crooked Legs"

The Acorn put together a nice, shambling, shuffling song of many different acoustical elements. "Crooked Legs" reminds me of The Arcade Fire's more subdued moments, usually when they are incorporating Caribbean or French elements into their music (think "Haïti" or "Ocean of Noise"). I'm very intrigued by a group who seizes upon those elements, as opposed to the more obvious anthemic qualities derived from Bruce Springsteen or U2. I will be definitely keep my eye out on The Acorn in the future.

(Jonathan Graef)
jon@minneapolisfuckingrocks.com

Tonight: The Raveonettes at the 7th Street

Download: The Raveonettes - "Aly, Walk With Me"
Download: The Raveonettes - "Dead Sound"

After nobly trying to expand their horizons via guest stars like Ronnie Spector and Moe Tucker, along with incorporating more diverse instrumentation, on 2005's Pretty In Black, the fact that The Raveonettes have returned to the fuzz-heavy drone of their earlier efforts on their third full-length album, Lust Lust Lust, might be viewed by some as a regression. However, the great Dane duo of Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner improved their skills as songwriters tenfold by ditching the gimmicky premises and using simplicity to give their Ronnettes-cum-Velvet-Underground sound shades of color that previously weren't there. Songs like "Dead Sound" and "The Beat Dies" do not reinvent the wheel of girl-group harmonies and Berlin-Wall-of-Sound-and-fuzz, but they do perfect it. The result, in Lust Lust Lust is not only the Raveonettes best album, but one of the best records of the year.

The Raveonettes play a 21+ show tonight at the 7th Street Entry. Doors are at 8 p.m. and tickets are $15.

The Raveonettes MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust

The Raveonettes
Lust Lust Lust (Vice Records, 2008)
Grade: A-

Download: The Raveonettes - "Aly, Walk With Me"
Download: The Raveonettes - "Dead Sound"

The Raveonettes are a Danish pop duo who've somehow managed to sustain themselves on a cult-like devotion to simplicity for its own sake. Past releases such as Whip It On and Chain Gang Of Love have certainly had their charms, but have also been hindered by gimmicky premises and constraints, such as having entire albums being in the same key. Their last album, Pretty In Black, expanded the group's sonic palette by reducing the distortion of their past two albums, adding various guests (including Ronnie Spector and Moe Tucker), new members and styles like disco and new wave.

In that context, Lust Lust Lust, the group's newest album, might strike some listeners as a regression. While the band returns to the girl-group-with-Stockholm-Syndrome-for-The-Velvet-Underground sound of their first record, Whip It On, they also have kept the expanded arrangements of their third. The result makes Lust Lust Lust a strong, assertive step forward for The Raveonettes.

That newfound sense of confidence is apparent on the very first track, "Aly, Walk With Me". Over a metronomic, but seductively noir, trip-hop beat and a fuzzed-out bass line, Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo hypnotically harmonize about strolling around cities like Portland and New York, as well as less tangible areas like one's dreams. The minor-key guitar lines that sporadically appear during the verses portend the white noise that arrives at "Aly"'s end, a wall-of-sound with enough distortion to make Stephen Meritt blush. By the time Aly finishes walking around the listener's heads, it's become perfectly clear that the song is easily the most mature and sensual piece of music that the band has written to date.

While "Aly, Walk With Me" might make listeners think that The Raveonettes have outgrown the playful, flirtatious energy of past records, songs like "Hallucinations" and "Blitzed" show up to serve as the link between the old and the new. What's different about these songs as compared to the tracks that were on Chain Gave Of Love is the difference between how an amateur and a professional use simplicity. The amateur keeps it simple, stupid, because they don't have enough musical knowledge to do anything else. The professional keeps it simple because that's what the song calls for, and they know exactly what to play and when to play it.

The Raveonettes announce themselves as being the latter by using space ("Lust" is particularly effective at using dynamics barely louder than a whisper), distortion and muted percussion in ways that bring remarkable color and shape to what are otherwise straightforward pop songs - no more than three or four chords per song. But the group impeccably combines Phil Spector's symphonic touches with the shoegazer atmospherics of Alan Mould to create a warm blanket of ambience over the entire album.

But having great production does not a great album make. No, you need songs for that, and Lust Lust Lust has those in spades. With his album, The Ravenettes have finally eschewed artifice and have written 12 eminently listenable songs. "You Want The Candy" and "Dead Sound" don't reinvent the Raveonettes noise-pop wheel, but they do perfect it by adding a great deal of melodic variety that wasn't present before. Similarly, "Sad Transmission" and "The Beat Dies" sound like girl-group standards of the past, but subtle production touches and newfound songwriting maturity help propel those tracks to album highlight status.

Subsequent releases will tell whether or not that the sophistication that The Raveonettes have developed on Lust Lust Lust is a matter of true growth or whether the band just got lucky. For now, Lust Lust Lust will just have to unequivocally stand as one of the first truly great records of the year.

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

New Music: The Raveonettes - Dead Sound (Peter Holstrom and Jeremy Sherrer Remix)

Download: The Raveonettes - "Dead Sound" (Peter Holmstrom and Jeremy Sherrer remix)

The Raveonettes, in this writer's humble opinion have released the first great record of the year with Lust Lust Lust, their fourth. Expect a review of it up in the next day or so. In the meantime, you can stream a few songs over at the band's MySpace Page.

Originally, the album was streaming in full. Those of you who were able to hear the full thing (including this reviewer, who, luckily, took a shit-ton of notes on the whole she-bang, and thus will be able to complete the review), count yourselves lucky. For the rest of you, if you like what you hear, then fantastic. But you're going to have to wait a week to purchase it. Lust Lust Lust is out February 19th. In the meantime, though, check out a remix of Lust single "Dead Sound", as done by Peter Holstrom and Jeremy Sherrer.

The Raveonettes play the 7th Street Entry on March 17th. Tickets are 21+ and will set you back $15. Buy them here.

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

The Raveonettes Announce Tour Dates, Play MPLS In March

Download: The Raveonettes - "Aly, Walk With Me"
Download: The Raveonettes - "Dead Sound"


The Raveonettes are gearing up for a busy 2008. First, their latest release, Lust, Lust, Lust, will be out stateside on February 19th. To promote said record, which sounds incredibly promising based on the two singles (for your listening pleasure, at the top of the post) released, The Raveonettes will be touring the U.S. of A.

The tour kicks off with multiple dates in California, before heading to Mini-Apple on the 17th for a show at the 7th Street Entry. The rest of the tour dates are posted below:

02-29 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
03-01 Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse
03-02 Costa Mesa, CA @ Detroit Bar
03-04 LA, CA @ El Rey Theatre
03-05 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
03-07 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
03-08 Vancouver, BC, CAN @ The Plaza Niteclub
03-09 Seattle, WA @ Neumos
03-17 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
03-18 Chicago, IL @ Double Door
03-19 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
03-21 Toroto, ON, CAN @ Opera House
03-22 Montreal, QC, CAN @ Les Saint
03-23 Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell's
03-24 Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
03-27 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's
03-28 Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar
03-29 Washington, DC @ Black Cat

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)