The Best Albums Of 2008 #18

The Raveonettes-Lust Lust Lust

I have never found an album in my life that begs to be played at ungodly volume levels more than Danish band The Raveonettes’ 3rd full-length album, Lust Lust Lust. Lust Lust Lust finds band members Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo peeling away a smidgeon from the 50’s surf rock and Spectoresque styling of 2005’s Pretty In Black and embracing a minimalist shoegaze approach that hearkens more to bands like The Jesus And Mary Chain and Slowdive. And despite these minimalist leanings, the album just begs to be blasted at maximum volume.

Wagner and Foo have long incorporated the idea of singing lyrics together to create an unworldly drone. And while there are still a good number of tracks sung in harmony on Lust Lust Lust, the duo split from time to time to tackle songs solo. The middle of the record features a pair of songs, “Black Satin” and “Blush,” that work so beautifully together that it’s easy to imagine the solo albums coming inevitably down the line. I’ll be very curious to see if The Raveonettes can ever top an album as nearly perfect as Lust Lust Lust.

“Dead Sound”