Rave On with some more ‘ettes’

Yes, its another ‘ettes’ band. Even if they’re not using ‘ette’ in their name i.e. the Ting Tings, the 50’s and 60’s girl group sound seems to be everywhere. I’m not complaining, I love all the retro sounds permeating music these days. The Ting Tings combine their girl group sound with an 80’s pop sensibility, and the Noisettes with a soul inspired punk sound. The Raveonettes, on the other hand, have a late 80’s early 90’s alternative guitar band influence. It’s oddly dark and catchy. I had hoped to see them a few weeks ago when they were in town. But the show was during a completely hellish week at the day job and I didn’t even get to a SWIK post, let alone a concert. I hope to catch them the next time. Until then, I’m enjoying their latest album, In and Out of Control.


Although they've been around since about 2002, I only recently discovered The Raveonettes on one of Slim’s mixes (see Imelda May post for more on Slim). Danish duo Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo take their name from The Ronnettes and Buddy Holly’s song “Rave On!” In fact, Ronnie Spector performed guest vocals on the song “Ode To L.A." from their 2005 album Pretty In Back. Their latest effort, In and Out of Control, is the Raveonettes’ fourth album. Their last album Lust Lust Lust was great, but like their first few albums had a more swirly ethereal guitar sound. The new album is much poppier. I love the catchy sound. The songs are easy to sing along to, thus great for bopping around the house or even for a run. The lyrics are a mix of dark and brooding as well as peppy and hopeful. They cover everything from drug addiction to rape and even suicide.


[clearspring_widget title="Grooveshark Widget: Chameleon" wid="48f3ef6c29317865" pid="4aee61efa554996e" width="500" height="400" domain="widgets.clearspring.com"]


“Suicide,” one of the standouts on the album, has a sultry intro that turns into a catchy chorus. Listen closely though, the lyrics are about saying no to suicide despite its alluring temptation when life is really bad. The music suits the sentiment perfectly, a sexy alluring intro then speeding up with the chorus about running away. I also like “Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed),” a plain and simple song that gets straight to the point. It’s angry and catchy, one of my preferred combinations for music. The repetition drives home the message and closes with a wonderful guitar piece and then an a cappella bit that comes around to appropriate sadness. Another favorite on the album is “Last Dance” a wonderfully catchy tune with a steady beat. Granted, it’s about drug addiction so a bit of downer for a topic. Written from the perspective of the person watching someone who is in love with his or her addiction. I realize that the album is sounding pretty grim, but the songs have an underlying sense of hope and they really are just soooo catchy. If you’re listening to the mix while you’re reading, you may be surprised to find that these are the lyrics because the music is so fun and addictive. Don't let the topics turn you off. The sound is pure pop.

The Raveonettes have been compared to The Jesus and Mary Chain, a scottish band that had a good size following in the late ‘80s. They broke up in 1999, but continue to influence bands today and essentially launched the swirly guitar sound often called shoegaze or shoegazing. I only recently discovered this term. Shoegaze apparently refers to a subgenre of alternative music identified by distorted sounds and droning guitar riffs that were popular in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The British music press coined the term shoegaze because these bands tended to just stand on stage and play (yes, you guessed it) while staring at their shoes. In fact, The Jesus and Mary Chain were known for playing with their backs to the audience. From what I recall of their concert circa 1992, that sounds about right. Some say the genre originated with the Cocteau Twins, a more mellow and ethereal swirly guitar band with female vocals. The genre also includes bands like My Bloody Valentine, The Pale Saints, and Galaxie 500, among others. Not to confuse anyone, but apparently some call all this music noise pop, rather than shoegaze. The mellower bands, such as the Cocteau Twins, can be called dream pop.


[caption id="attachment_1162" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Lush"][/caption]So how many genres do we need? I can't keep up anymore. Maybe I’m getting old? I lived in London in 1991 and I don’t recall anyone calling anything shoegaze or noise pop at the time. If the British press coined the term, how did I miss this? Maybe we didn't care. Back in the day, in the actual 1980‘s and early 1990‘s when we played vinyl records, we just called it alternative music. Maybe some of it was indie, as in independent, because these bands were on small record labels. Whatever the appropriate term for the fuzzy guitar music, the Jesus and Mary Chain led the pack. While the Raveonettes are clearly direct descendants, I would draw comparisons with Lush. They were a British band from the same genre and era (1989 to about 1998), but with a female vocalist and guitarist. Since Lush is actually from Britain, they are sometimes categorized as Britpop (because, we obviously needed yet ANOTHER sub-genre for alternative music).

I don't recall how or when I discovered Lush, but it was most likely doing college radio with Christine (see Siouxsie post for more on her). She was a huge fan of all the indie guitar-based music. This was most likely due to the music of her first love, Jimi Hendrix. I liked this music in varying degrees back then. Lush doesn't have the pop sensibility of The Raveonettes. Even their faster songs wouldn't be called catchy. It's great music though. When I recently pulled out their album, Gala, it brought me right back to the college radio station and the smell of stale cigarettes. This is not an unpleasant memory. It reminds me how exciting it is to discover new music and share it with people, making me grateful for this blog and eager to get behind some actual turntables.

The Ravenottes are part of what is being called nu-gaze, which needs no explanation. You get the idea, like all that neo-soul I’ve been writing about (see Birch, Sweet Dvines, or Sharon Jones). This brings up the question, is there anything new these days? I’m not complaining, just wondering. While The Raveonettes are clearly influenced by bands like Lush and The Jesus and Mary Chain, their vocal melodies dominate. The ‘50’s and ‘60’s harmonies remain the base of their sound. For me, this is what I find appealing. They aren’t hiding behind the guitars. The Raveonettes compose stellar pop tunes that are catchy, albeit dark. This unique combination makes the sound new and exciting, rather than just ‘oh they sound like so-and-so from 1989.’ Check out In and Out of Control. While you’re at it take a listen to some of their earlier albums. Like most good pop music, they are addictive.
Rave on, my friends, rave on!


Hear More Music
[clearspring_widget title="Grooveshark Widget: Chameleon" wid="48f3ef6c29317865" pid="4aefa2d775e6c126" width="400" height="350" domain="widgets.clearspring.com"]

See Music
The Raveonettes: Last Dance, My Boyfriend's Back (live)
Lush: Sweetness and Light (live), Nothing Natural
The Jesus and Mary Chain: Just Like Honey, Sometimes Always (feat. Hope Sandoval)

Buy Music
The Raveonettes
Lush
The Jesus and Mary Chain

More on shoegazing
For those who know this music (and want to geek out with me here), wouldn't bands like The Stone Roses and The Happy Mondays be part of this genre as well? Why wouldn't Joy Division have been the first shoegaze band? If that's they case, then what about New Order (Joy Division minus singer Ian Curtis)? They were more of a dance band, but definitely stared at their shoes during a show. I saw New Order circa 1990 and that's all they did, backed by a big light show. All of that music to me is just part of the Manchester/Factory sound. (Music from Manchester England, made popular by Factory Records and the Hacienda, a famous club there.) And what's with noise pop and dream pop? Seriously? Do we need all this? It seems excessive. But what do I know?