David Chiu

"We want music to be fun," says singer/multi-instrumentalist Sune Rose Wagner about the mission of the Raveonettes. "We want to go out there and just rock people, and to take them back to a different time."

The time he refers to is early rock 'n' roll--the era of Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound," the girl groups such as the Ronettes and the Marvelettes, and the Brill Building sound. Those influences can be heard on the Danish band's latest album "Pretty in Black," a continuation of the retro-meets-modern music from their 2003 debut "Chain Gang of Love."

This time around the Raveonettes--fronted by Wagner and vocalist Sharin Foo--craft a very clean, distortion-free sound on "Pretty in Black," a contrast to the heavy sheets of guitar noise on "Chain Gang of Love." According to Wagner, it happened almost as he was just recording demos while on vacation in London. "I figured when I go into the studio I'll bring my distortion pedals and we'll spice it up," he remembers. "But when we came into the studio I had already listened to those songs so many times. And I was like, `Wow, maybe I should leave it like this.'"

For "Pretty in Black," the Raveonettes again turned to veteran producer Richard Gottehrer, who helmed their first album. Best known for working with Blondie and the Go-Go's, Gottehrer also co-wrote the pop hits "I Want Candy" and "My Boyfriend's Back," the latter covered by the Raveonettes on the new album. Because of his track record in early pop, Gottherer was sought by Wagner. "I was aware of him because of my love for girl groups," he says. "It was like meeting a genius. It's a very healthy working relationship."

Gottehrer's history with sixties pop lent an authentic feel to the Raveonettes' sound. "People call us a retro band because of our influences but we've always tried to add a modern twist to it," says Wagner. "If you hear `Seductress of Bums,' it has a very modern rhythm and blues beat. With `Twilight,' you'd take a Link Wray/Cramps kind of guitar and you put a techno beat from [eighties pop group] Berlin. Those things are interesting--you add the old with the new."

As if to further prove that, the Raveonettes brought in their heroes to play on "Pretty in Black"--singer Ronnie Spector of the legendary girl group the Ronettes, drummer Maureen Tucker of the Velvet Underground, and keyboardist Martin Rev of Suicide. "All were highly influential from different times," explains Wagner. "I like the electronic aspect of the music--you have Suicide. I like a little bit of the wackiness and sordid tales of drug addiction and prostitutes--that's the Velvet Underground. And I like the sweetness and nostalgia of the music--the Ronettes. So that's the Raveonettes right there. That's what our band is sort of made of."

The retro nature of the music can also be found in the film noir-inspired lyrics that combine Wagner's firsthand observations and a fascination with American pop culture. "It's primarily based on personal experiences that I've had," he says, "and sometimes I'd like to do something that is completely fictitious. ["Here Comes Mary"] is a good example. At the time I was reading a lot of these old pulp paperbacks from the fifties--juvenile delinquents, bikers, and whistle stops. It's always about the sweet and innocent girl who falls in love with the gang leader and her parents don't approve. The song is just a take on that."

So how does a kid growing up in a small Danish town develop such a love for vintage American rock 'n' roll while his peers are listening to eighties and nineties music? "I didn't have anyone to teach me about music," says Wagner. "So I had to read about it, and the first thing I read about were the girl groups, Little Richard, Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and Carl Perkins. It struck a very nostalgic nerve in me. I can put on [the Ronettes'] "Be My Baby" and listen to it all day today and I'll never get tired of it. That's the beauty of this music."

Wagner is flattered that the Raveonettes' own music has garnered such high praise in the United States and Britain--and, naturally, commercial popularity in their native Denmark--although he has his sights on much bigger goals. "Sometimes I wish [others] would recognize it a little bit more so we could sell millions of albums," he says unabashedly. "That's what we truly want to do because we always have such high ambitions. We want to fucking play Madison Square Garden!"

The Raveonettes' current tour includes a return stop at the Double Door. "It was a nervous night for us," Wagner recalls of the first time playing there. "At the sound check all of the electronic [equipment] completely broke down. They made up a lot of the sound. So that was the first show we ever played with no electronic things. But we succeeded really well. We still have a picture of the electronics standing in the corner."

The Raveonettes play at the Double Door, 1572 North Milwaukee, (773)489-3160, on May 11.

(2005-05-03)

Also by David Chiu

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