The Raveonettes
Pe’ahi
BEAT DIES/ THE ORCHARD
6/10
Shimmering, atmospheric, fuzzy—no, we’re not listening to Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence but to the new surprise release by The Raveonettes. One doesn’t typically associate “fun in the sun” with the Danish duos brand of guitar-driven, ’50s-influenced indie-noir, yet Pe’ahi (which is named after a famed stretch of Hawaiian beach) is partially inspired by a near-death tumble in the surf suffered by co-lead ’Ette Sune Rose Wagner. A more poignant inspiration for the album was the recent death by alcoholism of Wagner’s father, which has the result of casting a shadow over even the most sunburned, Kodachromatic moments of the record.
Indeed the gloom prevails, as evidenced by the first lyric from the opening track “Endless Sleeper”: “Sand in my shoes, and death on my mind… / Crying mothers, your sons have drowned.” As the ten tracks tick off the mood gets darker; you’d be foolish to expect a song named “Kill!” not to live up to its name. Likewise, “A Hell Below” delivers, as might be expected, an ominous noise. Pe’ahi may be The Raveonettes’ sun-drenched, dreamy surf-rock album but dark things always seem to lurk in the lands filled with permanent sunshine, too, just ask David Lynch.
