Many things come in pairs – socks, gloves, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen – each offering what the other can’t. Pairs complement each other; balancing one extreme with another to create a happy and harmonious medium. Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo of the Raveonettes use that balance to sneak some real rock and roll–what they call “whiplash rock and roll” – into your head.
The duo’s second album,
Chain Gang of Love, demonstrates their commitment to their own brand of music. The tunes on the disc are consistently short and to the point, as they were on their debut CD
Whip It On. This brevity is combined with a jaded catchiness that you can’t help but enjoy; and if you don’t, hell, it’s all over in a few minutes anyhow. The song “Noisy Summer” is a fine representative of the whole -- it pairs a light, childlike melody and their signature scraping guitar with an imperfect but real stability. The light is balanced with some dark tones.
Wagner is the identified vocal leader of the twosome, belting out rugged, blues-influenced lyrics to the simple guitar riffs chock full of feedback. Foo just seems to patiently skirt his voice terrain, adding a softer white edge to their sound. You can hear it in songs like “Remember” and “Love Can Destroy Everything” -- his earthy, steady vocals are balanced with her atmospheric whisper.
The group’s admitted influences range from Buddy Holly to The Clash, which seems a pretty wide chasm until you hear their music. They skillfully pay homage to rock past in songs like “The Love Gang” and “Untamed Girls”, but with a keen ear for the future. The songs carry some of the ease of previous decades’ rock and roll, but they put it through the ringer of the contemporary and the sound becomes fresh mix of the two. The old is balanced with the new.
Despite the evident rawness of the music, there is also a steadfast commitment to structure. This disc was recorded entirely in the key of Bb major, mirroring its predecessor’s consistent Bb minor key. But in listening to the music, you never feel as though it falls victim to any puritanical strictures. It’s just fun and real, and if you weren’t told so, you wouldn’t really know that it was so ordered. The rules are balanced with the real.
The Raveonettes have come on the scene to tell us all how much they appreciate all that’s been done in the past, and how much there is to look forward to in the future. For the time being though, they stand in the present with
Chain Gang of Love and say to the collective listening public “Balance this.”
