The Raveonettes: In And Out Of Control

Denmark’s The Raveonettes live in a sonic universe made up of girl-group pop, Velvet Underground ennui, Jesus And Mary Chain fuzz, audiobooks of Jim Thompson novels, and little else. The duo’s fourth full-length album, In And Out Of Control doesn’t veer wildly from what’s come before; it applies a classic pop sensibility to scenes straight out of a tattered pulp novel. But it’s poppier and scuzzier than the preceding albums, as if someone contracted The Crystals for a late-period noir soundtrack released by Creation Records. A cult act almost by design—the band’s debut 2002 EP consisted entirely of short songs composed in B-flat minor—the band seems unlikely to win over anyone not previously moved by Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo’s wide-eyed gutter pop. Those sympathetic to their approach will find the group as alluring as ever, from the swelling, skeptical, summer-celebrating album-opener “Bang!” through the sing-along despair of the overdose-referencing “Last Dance,” and beyond.