THE RAVEONETTES at the Phoenix (410 Sherbourne), tonight (Thursday, October 22), 8 pm. $18.50. 416-870-8000.
When Barack Obama went to Denmark at the start of the month, not only did he fail to bring the Olympics to Chicago, he cock-blocked the Raveonettes from playing some shows in Austin.
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“Barack and Oprah,” vocalist Sharin Foo clarifies, speaking from the Denmark natives’ New York rehearsal space.
“We were trying to get visas for our two Danish musicians. Due to the embassy being so busy with the [Obama and Winfrey] visit, we never got them in time, so we had to cancel our shows at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
“We were a little frustrated. That said, the Danes love Obama.”
Naturally, Foo finds a positive side to a crummy situation. This sort of contrast is essential to the Raveonettes’ style.
Take the very direct Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed) from the band’s new album, In And Out Of Control (Fierce Panda/Vice). Foo sings it in a creepily honeyed tone sweetened further by an Everly Brothersesque two-part harmony.
“Hearing it, you’re duped into thinking it’s a really innocent song,” she says. “It’s more confrontational when you realize what the song is about. It hits you harder because your defences are down.
“I like to call it bubble-gum tragedy.'”
The juxtaposition of 60s girl-group naivete with an undercurrent of gloom creates the album’s tension. And while the Raveonettes have explored this on their previous three albums, Foo says that for In And Out Of Control, they strove for less celebratory material than usual, hence the outright graveness of songs like Oh, I Buried You Today and Wine.
But the influence of Phil Spector’s wall-of-sound production style is still evident. Foo, however, hasn’t been keeping up with the latest on the man himself.
It’s news to her that since Spector’s incarceration, Charles Manson asked the producer to collaborate with him on some songs.
Dry as a bone she says, “Hmm… I’ll have to check that out.”
Sharin Foo on why she’s pleased that the 2016 Olympics will be in Rio de Janeiro:
On how being Danish inherently contributes to the positive/negative balance of the Raveonettes’ music:
On her favourite film of late, Swedish vampire movie Let The Right One In:
On being disappointed after just learning that an American adaptation of Let The Right On In is in the works:
The song Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed), which is discussed in the feature:
The official music video for Last Dance, the first single from In And Out Of Control:
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