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The Raveonettes, 'Lust Lust Lust'

Danish duo’s recipe for rock: fuzz fuzz fuzz

By Adam McKibbin

Special to Metromix
February 18, 2008

Critic's Rating:

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Backstory: Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo made a mainstream splash in 2002, after Rolling Stone’s David Fricke discovered them at one of their very first gigs. His praise helped pave the band's way to a major label deal and mountains of hype; they’ve remained relevant, but never blew up in quite the way some pundits expected.
 
Why you should care: After a brief detour away from their signature sound on 2005’s more melodic and cleaned-up “Pretty in Black,” the Raveonettes retreat into the friendly arms of fuzz on “Lust Lust Lust,” a sexed-up shoegazer that continues to broadcast the duo’s affinity for the Jesus & Mary Chain, Velvet Underground and the Ronettes.

Verdict: Wagner and Foo add a number of dynamic songs to their repertoire, starting with the sinister opener “Aly, Walk with Me,” which unravels into an abrasive blast of feedback. “Blush” builds on a blast of guitars and sweet harmonies. “Dead Sound” takes the sweetly hypnotic collaboration of JAMC and Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval and shoots it up with steroids. Still, all the droning, distortion and Phil Spector–sized walls of sound can become numbing after a while; as such, “Lust Lust Lust” may be better enjoyed in fragments than a single sitting.

X-Factor: “Lust Lust Lust” wasn’t chart-eligible in the U.K. because the album came packaged with a pair of 3-D glasses.