Don’t get us wrong, the Beatles were great but since the Fab Four left their indelible mark on the landscape of popular music, Americans only pay attention to imports from the British Isles. It’s time we turned our eyes to the world stage. Criminy!
Acting as the bass-playing half of Denmark’s hottest band since, well, no one, The Raveonettes’ Sharin Foo has been winning over American critics and music fans alike with the recent release of Chain Gang of Love, a groovy LP recorded in ‘glorious B-flat major.’ Following in the footsteps of their debut EP, the B-flat minor Whip It On, The Raveonettes’ latest effort weaves tambourines with hand clapping, raging feedback with walls and walls of sound to create a lazy, gorgeous surf rock tapestry. And it’s Foo’s mesmerizing vocals that keep it all together and keep you begging for more.
A high priestess who bows at the sacred altar of Debbie Harry, this whiplash-blonde siren comes complete with glazed-over stare, saucy pout and zonked-out sex appeal. After meeting Raveonettes’ partner-in-crime Sune Rose Wagner, they combined their self-proclaimed love of the Velvet Underground and started writing catchy, sleazy songs that would put their sexed-up flavor of retro garage rock (not to mention their country) on the map.
Concert ticket: $12 – $15 Number of studio albums proper: One Number of Danish Music Award nominations: Three (including ‘Best New Artist’ and ‘Best Singer’)
Eighteen months. That’s apparently how long it takes to form a band, get signed, release several EPs and a critically acclaimed album in sunny Australia. The Sleepy Jackson a hybrid of rock, punk, and power pop hail from Perth in Western Oz and are currently spreading the good word around America.
The Sleepy Jackson played at the Paradise last week and seemed more interested in performance art than playing their instruments the drummer stood on his wobbly stool and conducted the antics of his axe men while the band employed as many end crescendos as it took to have all members jumping and kicking in unison. When they did get around to music, the result was edgy, fuzzed-out and fabulous.
Volatile frontman Luke Steele, an explosive swirl of black-and-white mod, is one of the most sexual strummers in the biz today. When he wasn’t throwing or smashing his guitar, Steele played with absolute ferocity, proving to the masses well, the Paradise just why the guitar is a phallic symbol. Check out Sleepy Jackson’s Lovers, recently released in July 2003, and you’ll see why this non-Brit import rocks my world.
Concert ticket: $10-15 to see My Morning Jacket / The Sleepy Jackson Number of studio albums proper: One Band since: 18 months ago Number of Australian ARIA nominations: Five