by James W. Coates

Created on: July 03, 2009   Last Updated: July 04, 2009

On Lust Lust Lust, The Ravonettes dispel with the polished gleam of previous record and deliver a grimier sound populated with distorted noise and disheartening lyrics.

Danish duo The Raveonettes create noise on their third full length album Lust, Lust, Lust and call it music. Throughout history lust, an intense desire for any type of gratification or excitement, has been met with hesitation. Likewise this record should be approached with caution.

Today no one gets stoned to death because of lust, though after listening to this record, it may not sound so. Sune Rose Wagner (vocals, guitar) and Sharin Foo (vocals, bass) have crafted an album that plays out like one long drawn-out track that lasts for 40 minutes then ends, leaving listeners longing for the noise, lusting after it even.

The majority of the tracks on this appropriately named album woos with seductive yet melancholic lyrics then spins around and spits, leaving things looking dirty in the rising sun of dawn. A fine return to form, filled with the raw, intense energy felt on debut EP Whip It On.

Aly Walk with Me

Lust Lust Lust is raw by design. Moods rarely rise above downhearted navel gazing with the emotional intensity of a weather report fused with distorted buzz and noise. This trick elevates the music to higher ground until, ears bleeding, the repeat button is pushed and the whole drama is replayed.

"Dead Sound" and lead track Aly Walk With Me begin like urgent soundtracks to film noir along the lines of Portishead, but heavier on noise than theatrics. When the noise factor cranks up at the end of "Aly Walk With Me", it startles and shakes, an immediate search for cover instills, but by the end of the track it sounds perfectly in place.

Hallucinations begins with liquid strums and a longing for a lost love. Like an open letter written on a grassy field in summertime with vintage New Order playing in the background, this track relies heavily on sultry, immediate lyrics that dangle in the air like cheap perfume after a lover has stormed out. Nothing is real anymore, when I rise, I leave, you to die, they sing with detached emotion.

The majority of tracks like Lust, Blush and Expelled from Love hum like the soundtrack to a tawdry love affair held privately in a blackened backroom with peep holes. But Lust Lust Lust also contains hints of devilish innocence.

Hallucinations With My Eyes Closed

Whereas most of the album contains tracks like With My Eyes Closed filled with distorted noise and sad lyrics, the flipside to this album sprinkles through tracks like You Want The Candy, Blitzed and Black Satin. These tracks recall 1950's surfer jams and bubblegum more so than drama and debaucheries, adding to the strange factor of this album.

While not immediately accessible to casual listeners, once the distortion and noise fade into the background Lust, Lust, Lust becomes a highly enjoyable album that longs to be played repeatedly.

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