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Sharin and Sune in bubble heaven
Yes, my blog visits have almost flatlined. No, I’m not dead… yet. Just looking for work and failing miserably.
Anyways, as a McCarthy’s Media Menace favorite, I thought I should update you on some important Raveonettes news. The band released the first single from the forthcoming album, In and Out Of Control (released Oct. 6 through Vice Records). You may already be familiar with the track as it was one of the demos we heard earlier this summer. The finished version of the track “Last Dance” is currently available through Entertainment Weekly’s website. Where the demo sounds somewhat flimsy, this one is perfectly and powerfully polished. Mainstream? Yes. Watered-down? Nah. I’d say if anything, where the band cut out a very exclusive audience with past releases, this song not only includes those folks, but many of the indie-snobs who thrust bands like Vampire Weekend and Passion Pit into the spotlight.
Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner in the studio
Making good on their promise this morning, The Raveonettes have released their first studio demo, “Last Dance.” Please note that is the working title. The annoucement came via Twitter, complete with special links to their U.S. label’s (Vice Records) website: one to download the new track, and another to sign up to receive further updates on demos and other “special things the band has planned for their new record.”
This is a pretty cool marketing strategy and in some ways furthers artists’ ability to use the Internet control their own destiny. Instead of the record leaking a month before its release and possibly getting a bad reception, fans can now weigh in and pretty much know what to expect before the proper package hits stores, thus killing that dire need to hear the entire thing early. And even if it does leak, who cares? Most of the stuff was released first by the band. I think we are moving out of the area of the big surprise record. The sooner artists embrace this and use the Internet to their benefit instead of simply going through the motions with their MySpace accounts, the more interesting music will be. I’m not saying everyone should release demos in the runup to a record; but the Internet just makes it so easy to be creative, and most people are still following that old-school record label model.
But let’s get to the specifics here, because after all, the reason this song was released in the first place was to get reaction, buzz, whatever. Firstly, “Last Dance,” in its current form, represents a huge difference from the last album, Lust Lust Lust. Where that release was caked with layer upon layer of feedback, noise and fuzz, this three-and-a-half-minute pop song, despite relatively subtle hints of fuzz in the guitar, is clearer and much more accessible. Not to say that’s a bad thing. I think frontman Sune Rose Wagner has always regretted not breaking the mainstream, and songs like this might be his chance to change all of that. Don’t let any of this fool you, though. The reverb, catchy hooks and dark lyricism — possibly bleaker than before — are all intact, and so far, it doesn’t sound like Pretty In Black. Take that however you wish.
