Albums of 2011 # 5: The Raveonettes - Raven In The Grave

Raven In The Grave is the fifth album from Danish indie duo Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo ... aka The Raveonettes, and its release in early 2011 appears to have somehow flown under the radar of the vast majority of mainstream critics and music writers ... pretty much like all of their earlier albums, then.

I’m not sure quite why that is, because clearly the duo has developed a fairly large following; they’ve been around long enough (since 2002), they’ve toured extensively (across USA and Europe in 2011), and they’re an “indie” band at the more accessible or “pop” end of the indie spectrum - all things that should have guaranteed relatively widespread exposure for this album in particular.

Raven In The Grave is basically an album of dark (mostly) guitar-based indie rock tunes, chock full of pop hooks, strong boy/girl vocals, well executed harmonies, and decent songwriting. The album’s themes mostly concern death and a sense of loss, or a loss of youth, and a degree of restlessness permeates right across all nine tracks.

I personally found it something of a “cold winter morning” album, probably because of the aforementioned themes, and the fact that I discovered it during winter (!), but when all is said and done it is simply a top quality pop album, and I’m buggered if I know why The Raveonettes are largely ignored by all but the most committed of their fanbase. This really should have been the album that provided the duo with a much coveted and long overdue breakthrough. But it didn’t, and as a result this album feels a little bit like my own little secret.

Download: ‘Recharge & Revolt’ (clip below), ‘War In Heaven’, and ‘Evil Seeds’.