Revenge of the Double Feature: Wovenhand, Ten Stones and Raveonettes Remixed

One complaint about Wovenhand: either there's a space between "woven" and "hand," or there isn't. It's as simple as that; make up your damn mind.

Wovenhand is one of those bands that my friend Kevin came across and immediately latched on, force feeding the music down all his friends' throats. My usual response to this sort of behavior is to tell whichever friend has done this, "Yes, I'll check it out," then leave the mp3s they send me to sit on my desktop for a couple months before deigning to give them my attention for even a minute. This time, I waited about three days before getting around to listening to what I was being force-fed; this is one of the rare occasions where I go back for seconds instead of passing it off to some forgotten file folder on my computer.

I'm having difficulty describing this in a way that would be accurate to what I'm feeling. It's like taking a bourbon-tanked horse ride through a dusty dream landscape where song manifests reality, compatriots are hard to come by, and inner passion rules as king. Trying to express what I'm feeling while listening to this is incredibly difficult. Powerful music is what you get on Ten Stones. If strong songwriting is what you're looking for, then this is your album.

Picking favorite tracks isn't very easy either. "The Beautiful Axe" opens the album the way an album opener should. But, "Horsetail" really grabs me too. And "Iron Feather," and -but- -graaa! Can't pick favorites! The only track I'm not really wild about is "White Knuckle Grip." For some reason, probably the very blues rock beat to it, it reminds me of a George Thorogood song, at least at the beginning. But the well-placed accordion (?) saves it, raises it, and makes it quite good actually. Comes off a little like The Birthday Party, in a way. "Quiet Night of Quiet Stars" is a calm and breezy little thing that calls about a vaguely "Girl from Ipanema" vibe, if it were from a dark sunset in a Terry Gilliam film (okay, I have no idea what that was meant to mean either; it sounded good at the time, so we're running with it). "Kingdom of Ice" carries a great epic tone. I especially like the untitled bonus track at the end. You know what? The whole album is great; just shut up and get it already.

Although Wovenhand is typically filed under alt-country, I'd say Ten Stones straddles the line between alt-country and a thrashy rock noir. Fans of Crime & The City Solution, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and Carla Bozulich would do well to check this out. It especially draws comparison to Crime & The City Solution.

Otherwise, Ten Stones is damn awesome. Just off a first listen, it rocketed into my top ten for the year. Subsequent listens will probably drive it into the top five. To answer the question regarding whether or not a recent release makes me interested in backtracking an artist's prior releases (including other associated acts), I'd put down a yes vote. Yes, I will be going back for seconds. And most likely thirds.


Wovenhand website and myspace, and label site for direct ordering of Ten Stones

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As previously mentioned in my review of The Raveonettes' latest full-length, they are releasing a series of digital EPs this fall. The first is a freebie, and consists of three remixes from Lust Lust Lust. Unfortunately, the remixers in question did everything that makes me hate remix albums. The 80KIDZ remix of "Dead Sound" is nothing but a lightly-sampled-from-the-original techno sh*tpile. The only thing recognizable is a clip of the vocals that do that annoying and incomprehensible stuttering crap that plagues the whole techno genre. Nic Endo's variation on "Aly, Walk With Me" strips it of all that made it good in the first place and replaces it with a minimal beat. Most of the lyrics are chopped out, and there's this 8-bit video game sound effect that keeps jumping in. Trentemøller's treatment of "Lust" does it no favors. Instead, it drags on for 7 minutes of masurbatory and repetitive techno-beat.

All in all, I could have done without this remix release. Free is the appropriate price, but I suppose some out there are incredibly excited about these remixes, and is no doubt enjoying them very much. They can enjoy them all they want; I'll stick to the original album myself.

The Raveonettes, Lust Lust Lust

Late post because A.) I had to go out and get something to review and B.) I wasn't planning on that afternoon nap being more than an hour. Shows you what I know.

I get the feeling The Raveonettes have been listening to alot of Jesus and Mary Chain while gearing up for Lust Lust Lust since much of the album bears the a similar sound to that wildly distorted blast from the past. According to my reading, they claim influences from girlpop groups such as the The Ronettes and The Shangri-Las, to more experimental rock outfits like The Velvet Underground, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine. The influence shows, but instead of being grossly derivative, it comes off as being a celebration of the styles that made them what they are.

Confession: I remember about 6 years ago when "Attack of the Ghost Riders" was released as a music video, watching the black and white campy two and a half minutes and thinking that it wasn't that impressive. Not my thing. Maybe I was watching at my college campus' cafeteria, a place notorious for not having the sound turned on half the time (or just being drowned out by the massed hordes), so that wasn't a fair shake. I have since repented, broke down, and gave this a shot.

First impression was good, borderline exceptional. They are wild fuzzy and overdriven like The Jesus and Mary Chain before them, but with a twist of sexy and pop that makes for a smooth finish (why am I describing this like a mixed drink?). First track "Aly, Walk With Me" is a groovy, fuzzed-out distorted monstrosity that is darkly sexy and became immediate favorite of the album. Next track "Hallucinations" features a building intro keeps me in suspense in the best way. "Lust" evokes a sound like a crossover of Western ride-into-the-sunset with 60's psychedelic pop. The inspiration of JaMC once again makes itself evident in the sparkle of "Dead Sound," and for the next two tracks. "Expelled From Love"has a kind of doom-ridden repetitive sort of drone, once again calling that build-up that I liked about "Hallucinations." "You Want The Candy"is that glorious mix of girlpop Ronettes/Shangri-Las inspired material with the fuzzy guitars that I love so much, and the vibe continues into "Blitzed" and "Sad Transmission." The ambiance changes with "With My Eyes Closed," shifting to something slower, clearer, and mellow, only to shift again"The Beat Dies." That goes to a slow-dance pop echo distortion that sweeps me up. Bonus tracks "My Heartbeat's Dying" and "Honey, I Never Had You" do the blend thing again.

If I have a single problem with the record, it lies in that the songs are too bloody short. At a runtime of 47:12 (US version with two bonus tracks, one of which is a European LP-only bonus), it should feel much longer than it does. Most of the songs are around the three minute mark; while I have no problems with brevity, I'm just getting into them when they end and move to the next track.

The album art has this two-color 3-d look, like it was supposed to come with 3-d glasses (In the UK, it did. According to wikipedia, the album didn't chart in the UK because freebies are verboten and disqualify an album from the charts). Liner notes are a single sheet, folded in quarters, with lyrics for everything but the two bonus tracks. Nothing special, aside from the 3-d effect, but not lacking anything either.

I'm going to put this down as a recommended album for this year. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy the experience, it has enticed me to backtrack and pick up their previous recordings. NME informs us from a June article that they plan on releasing three EPs later this year (one each for the months September, October, and November), so I suppose I'll be picking those up as well.

While it is quite a good record, it's not exactly blowing my skull to little bits. Recommended, hell yes; top ten, probably; top five, probably not. But get it anyway. Chances are you'll not hear that many blends of 60s girlpop and distorted lo-fi rock, and this is the one to pick up.



The Raveonettes online and at myspace