SYDNEY, Australia (SONY BMG Australia) - Uber cool duo the
Raveonettes are back with a stunning new album full of glammed up vintage sounds and super stylish songs. Complete with special guests galore, The Raveonettes' 'Pretty In Black' takes the Danish rockers into new territory...
As the Raveonettes, Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo made their mark on the emerging new garage-rock scene in 2002 with a flair for the dramatic. Their image was pure '50s retro-cool: lanky, dark-haired Sune and six-foot blonde glamazon Sharin wore black leather and sat astride motorbikes. Now, with new album 'Pretty In Black' due to drop on July 3, they're ready to bring a touch of class back to the rock and roll world!
On 'Pretty in Black', Sune flung away the rulebook, along with the fuzz and distortion, and let the elegant simplicity of his songwriting shine through. The resulting songs are, as Rolling Stone's David Fricke puts it, "...a whirlwind of ravishing noir and vintage-pop echo(ing) with Sune's deep affection for early rock & roll and girl-group bop coming through bright and clear."
They've done away with the restrictions they imposed on their previous releases - 2003's 'Chain Gang Of Love' was confined to B-flat major, while 2002 EP 'Whip It On' didn't move from B-flat minor - and come up with a fresh new sound, something akin to Jesus and Mary Chain meets Velvet Underground.
"I realised that it was kind of hard for people to listen to an hour of music played all in the same key with the same three chords," admits Sune. "I can see why they might think it's repetitive." Adds Sharin, "We really had to do something different on this album, for the sake of ourselves and our sanity. We had to try something new."
The Velvet Underground connection is even stronger though. Much to Sune's delight, legendary Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker was invited to record with the Raveonettes when they made a tour stop in Atlanta where she lives. It was Moe's 60th birthday.
"The bus was parked outside the studio and I got up first to make sure everything was ready before she came," Sune says. "When I walked in, she was already there, just sitting on the couch by herself. I'm too nervous to handle these things, so I ran out to the bus and told everyone, 'You have to come in because I can't handle her alone, no way!' But after a few hours I relaxed. She was just awesome."
Also guesting on the album are Martin Rev, keyboardist for one of Sune's favorite bands, the pioneering electro proto-punk duo Suicide, and rock icon Ronnie Spector.
"She's like a goddess," says Sune of Ronnie. "It doesn't get any bigger than that for me personally. She's the reason why I do the kind of music I do."
