Chain Gang of Love
The Raveonettes
Both nostalgic and revolutionary, The Raveonettes have a passion for the "black leather and sex" of the James Dean-era 1950s.
The Raveonettes are Danish-born Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner, surprisingly a man and a woman whose Everly Brothers-style vocals are as androgynous as their names.
Draped in leather, motorcycles and distaste for their peers in the music industry on the cover of their first full-length album Chain Gang of Love, The Raveonettes' sound has the feel of old Beach Boys movies while adding in their own distorted guitar and organ reverb.
The best tracks out of a selection of great and original songs are "Remember," the LP's opener and "Let's Rave On." Both manage to be feel-good and prompt sing-alongs despite the overwhelmingly melancholy lyrics.
It doesn't matter that The Raveonettes' version of classic '50s rock 'n' roll has been brought back time and again, most recently by minimalist groups such as the White Stripes and the Strokes.
However, the Raveonettes add their own unique touch, like guitar reverb that sounds at times like AOL dialing up, but it adds much-needed atmosphere and distinction from this now common "New Wave" sound, which combines New York's edgy punk scene from the 1970s with '50s pop melodies.
The Raveonettes were appropriately named the next big thing by Rolling Stone recently and while they may not catch on completely with the general public, they are hopefully in for some much deserved pop success in the United States.
Their musical talent and unique vocal harmonizing alone could garner them success, but in an image driven world, their rock leather nostalgia speaks volumes to a country oversaturated in regurgitated beats and melodies.
Story After Story
Ari Hest
Hest's voice, an unremarkable conglomeration of the purr of John Mayer and the growl of Chad Kroeger from Nickelback, is not the strong suit on his newest release, Story After Story. It is his lyrics that are his strong suit; usually simultaneously funny and poignant, the lyrics paint a picture that anyone can relate to.
From the opening track, "They're On To Me," which features a driving beat of guitar and drums behind original lyrics about paranoia and self-doubt, Hest's style captures the ear.
There are shortcomings, however, like in the Dave Matthew's-style ballad "Strangers Again," which has the unfortunate job of handling (wince) harmonica.
Each track has its own strengths, and each presents different combinations of instruments such as strings, piano and mandolin. While Hest's strong tenor does not particularly stand out as a strong suit, it does have the feature of making the tracks come together to make a highly listenable album.
Hest's downfall, and probably the reason his music is not widely known, is that none of these songs stand out from each other. They are best listened to in sequence, leaving little room for the necessity of a single so that people can sample the music.
Even though the songs may blend together, the lyrics are so descriptive they call attention to themselves without the added beauty of being sung instead of spoken.
Lines like, "Driving home along the Hudson, the water shivers in the night/I look where you live, it draws me in but I don't want to fight," draw the listener into the song and are still vague enough to be universally understood.
Go
Vertical Horizon
Vertical Horizon is the band that everyone has heard but not heard of necessarily. Their 1999 success "Everything You Want," a sad pop ballad with a twist in perspective at the end, was lumped together with other rock acts of the late '90s in the vein of Matchbox Twenty.
Their new album Go, released Sept. 23, has much the same sound of their previous endeavors, with the added touch of heavier guitar on some songs. Without this, they would be hopeless in their attempt to stand out in the crowd.
The tracks with the most potential for originality are the heartfelt "When You Cry," "Echo" and "Goodbye." The radio single "I'm Still Here" unfortunately is forgettable and bland.
Unknown to many mainstream fans, Vertical Horizon's members have been recording in some capacity since 1992. Their four-man lineup has changed over the years, but their self-described "jam band" attitude has not.
On one of their best tracks, "Echo," singer Matt Scannell plaintively croons in his all-American accent, "I don't want to be just another echo." He is talking about a relationship with a girl, but these words mirror how his band is seen to the outside world: a mostly unmemorable echo of those who came before; Matchbox Twenty and the Dave Matthews Band.
Overall, Go is as non-threatening and unoriginal as its title, (possibly the most overused action verb in existence) and is synonymous with a first date: a little hesitant yet has certain unexplainable appeal and attraction to it.
Annemarie Moody is an entertainment writer for the Web Devil. Reach her at annemarie.moody@asu.edu.
