The Raveonettes - Pretty In Black

Like sex, music can often be made even better with constraints. For instance, the Raveonettes produce their best material when Sune Rose Wagner makes himself work resourcefully within specifically defined boundaries. The band's first album, Whip It On, was written entirely in B-flat minor using only three chords, and Wagner and Sharin Foo banned hi-hats and cymbals and capped every song before the three-minute mark, resulting in a consistent gloom that, truth be told, didn't make it any less gimmicky or any more listenable. They fared much better on their major-label debut, Chain Gang of Love, its songs likewise limited to three minutes per song, three chords, and, most critically, B-flat major.
These self-imposed constraints, along with liberal doses of distortion, created an intriguing duality: They put the band closer to their 1950s rock influences and made them sound much more primitive than they actually were, but the scuzziness of their sound also put a modern stance on their backwards glance, making their nostalgia for 50s delinquent cool much more useful than the rampant 60s garage rock retro. For all their reverence for Gene Vincent and namesake Buddy Holly, the Raveonettes weren't revivalists so much as revisionists, retrofitting their rock with all the explicit sexuality and dark violence that 70 years ago could only be conveyed implicitly. 

The Raveonettes - Chain Gang Of Love

The Raveonettes barely gave listeners a glimpse of their cinematic brilliance with their Whip It On EP. One listen to their first studio full-length, The Chain Gang of Love, and you'll know it immediately. The crash and charm of this 14-song set exceeds any kind of glorious expectations laid out at the beginning, and the Raveonettes probably want it that way. Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo go for a much bigger sound this time around. The Chain Gang of Love is far glossier and more layered in melodies compared to Whip ItOn's gray-coloured coolness. Having legendary producer Richard Gottehrer (Blondie, Marshall Crenshaw, the Go-Go's) at the helm doesn't hurt either, for he captures the Raveonettes' true pop essence with style. Forget those rules of keeping it to three chords recorded in B-flat minor. The Raveonettes indulge themselves in the finer elements of mid-'80s post-punk/noise pop (think The Jesus & Mary Chain) and combine it with sheer pop melodies of the '50 and '60s for a sexy rock & roll picture show. From the fantastic pop jaunt of "The Great Love Sound" to the pulsating rockabilly blend of "Let's Rave On" and "Heartbreak Stroll," The Chain Gang of Love finds the Danish duo embracing influences of the past, but the Raveonettes tweak things ever so slightly to make them their own. The Chain Gang of Love isn't suffocated in garage rock fashion alone, either. Foo and Wagner's low vocals may hint at such a display, but overall, their smooth pop presentation won't be pigeonholed. The Raveonettes honour great pop moments of yesteryear, in hopes of positioning themselves and the rock scene in general for something grand later on.

The Raveonettes - Whip It On EP

Danish duo the Raveonettes strike a slick pose on their debut EP, Whip It On. It's a slinky post-punk mix recorded entirely in B-flat minor while each song thrives on only three chords. Minimalist and stylish, Whip It On doesn't go for the grandiosity of the Strokes and the White Stripes. The Raveonettes are ambitious in their own way, and it works brilliantly. Debut single "Attack of the Ghost Riders" glides with an extra-terrestrial flair, Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner's wispy vocals surfing along momentous percussion. The high-speed garage-y "Do You Believe Her" shimmies with a darker posture, but that's exactly what the Raveonettes are going for. Whip It On is basically a soundtrack album, a film noir storybook of eight solid tracks blazing with attitude. "Cops on Our Tail" is nonchalant in a vexed moment, but never cavalier. Whip It On is a decent look at what the Raveonettes are capable of, certainly an honest effort, but more impressive in the sense that they're rock & roll antagonists.