As much as I love bands mixing it up and making music all over the map, there’s something to be said about the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mantra. It’s surprising how long Raveonettes have been around rocking their indie, retro, wall-of-sound rock and it still hasn’t gotten stale, maybe it’s because no one pulls it off as good as they do. Their new album Raven in the Grave, just came out on VICE, and follows in the same footsteps as some of their best previous efforts, like Lust, Lust, Lust and Pretty in Black.
The Raveonettes are one of those bands that you can enjoy listening to in many situations. It’s good working music because it’s swirling, catchy and consistent. When rocking them via itunes it can sometimes be hard to distinguish when the current album is over and the next begins. This is also why their music works well on road trips, you can zone off, bobbing your head with a li’l smile on your face. You should check out “Forget That You’re Young” as a good example of what they sound like, on previous albums as well as this.
When I think of The Raveonettes I’m often reminded of Little Radio in LA. I’m not even sure if I ever saw them play there but they seem like such a perfect band for the defunct music venue in downtown LA that used to throw really cool parties. I think Raveonettes played there one New Year’s Eve and also another time or two. I wish it were still around and they would play there again. We could park the ice cream truck outside and swap spots going inside to hear them rock the joint. Since that’s not likely to happen I’ll have to try to catch them when they make a West Coast swing in a couple weeks. Anyone been to Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach? Hmmm….
April 2011
Monday 18th Pearl Street , Northampton
Wednesday 20th Music Hall of Williamsburg , Brooklyn
Thursday 21st Music Hall of Williamsburg , Brooklyn
May 2011
Wednesday 4th Glasshouse , Pomona
Thursday 5th The Troubadour , West Hollywood
Friday 6th The Troubadour , West Hollywood
Saturday 7th Belly Up Tavern , Solana Beach
Sunday 8th Saint Rocke, Hermosa Beach, CA
Monday 9th The Detroit Bar , Costa Mesa
Tuesday 10th Bimbo’s 365 Club , San Francisco
Thursday 12th Wonder Ballroom , Portland
Friday 13th Neumos , Seattle
Saturday 14th Venue , Vancouver
