The Raveonettes @ Black Cat
Credit: Søren Solkær Starbird |
New York rockers Black Acid got things started well, their heavy psychedelic sound providing a fitting, if less melodic, warm-up to the Raveonettes' set. At the very least Black Acid primed the crowd for volume, as both bands kept the decibel level high all night. And for the Raveonettes, that's exactly how their music really needs to be heard. If the wall of reverb-soaked sound originating from Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo's guitars isn't drowning out your thoughts in the wash of noise, you probably don't have it cranked loud enough. And despite the Black Cat's big room being full to the bursting point, crowd noise was never an issue: the band made sure of that.
The set itself was tight and well rehearsed. Saturday was the last show of a month-long stint in the U.S., and the easy rapport of the road was in full display. Even the spaces between songs seemed well-timed and these transitions were effortless and nearly telepathic. What's really striking about the band, though, is their ability to make so much noise, often sound so dark, and yet still sound so sweet.
Of course, other bands that managed the same feat — the Velvet Underground, or Jesus and Mary Chain — are pretty essential pieces of the Raveonettes' sound. But the band's addition of girl-group harmonizing, just part of their overall near-fetishization of 50s & 60s American pop culture, is really what makes the difference, and though the vocals could sometimes get buried beneath all that sound, those great harmonies still pushed through.
The set was a healthy mix of older material and songs from the band's excellent new disc, Lust Lust Lust, along with one cover thrown in near the end of the show, of Stereolab's "French Disko." How this blend struck one probably depends on how one views the band to begin with. Those who complain that The Raveonettes lack range and that all their material sounds largely the same could probably find plenty to back up that argument; for those dancing around, pumping fists in the air, and generally going nuts when a riff rang out from a familiar tune, it's obvious that any formal rigor that keeps the band from going too far afield was more than made up for by how expertly they work within that established sound. Which just goes to show that it's easy to over think rock 'n' roll, but The Raveonettes are aiming their attack just a little below head level. The new record isn't called Lust Lust Lust for nothing after all.