The Raveonettes, Heaven

Danish noise pop duo The Raveonettes entertain this November at Heaven with their jarring mixture of delicate melodies and overdriven production.

After the surprise release of their seventh studio album Pe’ahi in July this year the band announced tour dates including the Heaven gig.

The Raveonettes Tickets London

Pe’ahi is the name of a well-known surfing spot on the Hawaiian island of Maui, and the title signposts the stylistic origins of the music in 1960s surf rock.

The DNA of surf rock- reverb-drenched, twanging guitar lines and hooky vocal melodies- is strewn across the tracks of Pe’ahi, but with a vital update: the clean ‘60s pop melodies and guitar constantly strain under the weight of ambient noise that threatens to crush every instrument.  

Tracks like Killer in the Street are driven by breakbeats and buzzing guitar and bass lines- all slightly out of focus under the crackling noise exploding from every channel.

But underneath are buried bright, deceptively sweet melodies from the close vocal harmonies of bandmates Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner. Dig deeper still and those melodies conceal off-kilter songs with dark lyrics exploring incongruously heavy subjects.

Peppering the album are references to Wagner’s recently deceased father; lines like “One time I saw my dad f*** a redhead whore, I never ever thought I would”, from Killer In The Street, lay bare the juxtaposition of dark and light at the heart of The Raveonettes’ music.  

Heaven club in Embankment should provide the perfect venue for this kitsch act with an edge of malice buried deep in the heart of their abrasive music.