The Raveonettes: “She Owns The Streets”
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With their signature fuzz and razor-sharp pop sense, Denmark’s noise-rock duo the Raveonettes pick up where landmark bands like the Jesus and Mary Chain and Sonic Youth left off. But even if you strip away the layers upon layers of delicious, squalling, buzzy noise from the Raveonettes, you’d still be left with a great rock and roll band.
The group began back in the early aughts when guitarist Sune Rose Wagner tried to marry his love for early rock and roll and the kind of squealing noise rock the aforementioned bands championed. After a bit of searching, he found his complement in singer, bassist and fellow Dane Sharin Foo. Together they created the Raveonettes, a band that took its name from the incomparable Ronettes and Buddy Holly’s early rock salvo “Rave On.”
The band came out of the gate sprinting with their excellent 2002 eight-song EP Whip It On, a sleek slice of post-punk and noisy pop composed entirely in the key of B-flat minor with only three chords. Over the course of the next decade, the Raveonettes released five albums to critical acclaim, and they even earned nods from their peers. Guests like the Velvet Underground’s Moe Tucker, Suicide’s Martin Rev, and Ronnie Spector have all made appearances on Raveonettes recordings.
On September 11, the Raveonettes will release their sixth full-length record Observator. Last week, the second single from Observator hit the world. “She Owns the Streets” is a slinky and shimmery, if a bit melancholic, track that walks the line between the Raveonette’s two loves: 80s noise and late 50s/early 60s pop. While the song hews a bit closer to the former, little elements, like some surf-y guitar tones and Foo’s Brill Building backing vocals on the chorus, prove it’s a great synthesis.
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