In Stores Now: In & Out of Control by the Raveonettes

Editorial cartoon from the Eugene Register-Guard, December 8, 1978

Denmark's Raveonettes released one of my favorite albums of 2008, the swirling fuzz-poppy Lust Lust Lust. That album showed the band continuing their gradual move away from the influences predominant on their first few records(early '60s garage and surf rock, as well as later bands that leveraged those sounds like the Jesus & Mary Chain) and embracing a more "pop" approach rooted in the "girl group sound" of bands like the Ronettes and Shangri-Las (the JAMC's other influence). On In & Out of Control, the Raveonettes have traced the progeny of the girl groups, cherry-picking the best melodic tricks found in '70s power pop and more recent Europop/Eurodance hit-makers like *gulp* Roxette and Ace of Base.

This isn't a bad thing, though - In & Out of Control is a straight-up pop record with a new-found focus on fresher hooks, but the Raveonettes haven't completely reinvented themselves. The lyrics are still classic Raveonettes, combining some morbid subject matter (drugs, rape suicide) with that girl-group "teen death ballad" approach. The big single, "Last Dance", is about being in a relationship with an addict who has overdosed on more than one occasion. Two of the album's biggest pop moments are in the songs "Suicide" and "D.R.U.G.S.", and the band's shiny new pop approach interplays weirdly with the song's themes. This is most evident on the minimalist pop of "Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)" - this song has come under fire for going too far in using bubblegum hooks to anchor a song that addresses the issue of rape in a reductionist and demeaning way. To be honest, though, even though I can understand why it would make some people flinch, I think it's a worthwhile exercise as part of the album's context. On its own, it's pretty odd, but it works as part of a cohesive set of songs.

One of the gems on In & Out of Control is "Breaking Into Cars" - its monotone verse is a throwback to the sound on earlier Raveonettes albums, but this is just a set-up to contrast with the huge new-wave-tinged chorus melody. It's a great pop song that shows the Raveonettes' talent for combining their influences in novel ways to keep their sound fresh - I never would have guessed after their first two albums that they had this kind of potential, but, so far, every little reinvention has made them better and more interesting. Let's see how long they can keep it going.

"Breaking Into Cars" by the Raveonettes