Is it a hit, *hit or miss?
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The
Raveonettes - Whip It On
by Dan Grote
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The
Raveonettes - Whip It On
Label: Crunchy
Frog Records
Hit, *hit or
Miss?: hit
Rating: 
With the garage rock trend not quite showing
the same head of steam it had last summer, it’s a little tough to read
the buzz behind the Raveonettes, a band that answers the question, “What
if the White Stripes came up in the Sweden scene?”
Sure enough, the Raveonettes are a male
and female duo, Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo (not quite sure which is
which), making ‘60s style music in a country full of bands doing the same
thing (see also: the Hives, the Division of Laura Lee, the Sahara Hotnights).
However, the Raveonettes earn their own hype not by emulating obscure blues
artists or the Rolling Stones, but by rocking with a dose of ‘60s psychedelic
lounge.
The first single, “Attack of the Ghost
Riders,” which favors guitar distortion as much as the rest of the album’s
eight songs, calls to mind the work of Nancy Sinatra, if Nancy started
tripping on acid in the recording studio.
That’s a good way to describe most of Whip
It On. Songs like “Do You Believe Her” and “Cops on our Tail” carry all
the idyllic catchiness of ‘60s hippie pop without actually being so conveniently
pleasing to the ears. On “Cops on our Tail,” they’re not afraid to tell
the police “f*** you,” turning a Bonnie and Clyde tale into a neo-garage
“f*** tha Police.”
Also, there are no instrument restrictions
on Whip It On. Despite there being only two Raveonettes, yes Virginia,
there is a bass guitar, and other instruments are allowed too. “My Tornado”
and “Bowels of the Beast” make use of the tambourine (a key psychedelic
instrument) and the jingle bells, respectively, both of which add to the
darker undertones of the melodies.
VERDICT: The Raveonettes are the homage
band at the Summer of Love tribute festival, bursting with sexual and drug-fueled
energy but not bogged down in political statements. Less rock than the
Hives but less pretentious than the White Stripes, their tunes might fit
in well with the “Our Man Flint” series of films that cheekily examined
London’s swingers scene in the Sixties. The Raveonettes are worth checking
out if you haven’t finished living in the past yet.
CD Info and Links
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