After having the contents of their entire tour van stolen, Sharin Foo and Sun Rose Wagner have decided to abandon the amps-turned-off feel of "Pretty in Black," and instead have returned with new gear to fix what was wrong with "Chain Gang of Love," as well as deliver a longer playing equivalent to "Whip it On," all in one fail swoop. This album plays like everything that was ever good about this group, washing over the listener in waves of blistery feedback and static. The male & female vocals are now perfectly steam pressed together into a creepy androgynous blend, and the tender moments of "Pretty in Black" are now once again awash in the harsh noise of "Whip it On." This is by far their best work to date, and also their most defining. Although die-hard fans always knew what they were all about, this makes it crystal clear, and justifies them as a force to be reckoned with against comparisons to Jesus and Mary Chain, Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth & My Bloody Valentine. By the end of the first song "Ally Walk With Me" you should know what you got yourself into: New York numb, 50's noir, and desert twang tornados, staring you down and approaching like a zombie army.

This Danish band - the duo of Sune Rose Wagner (on guitar, instruments and vocals) and Sharin Foo (on bass and vocals) - were much hyped on their arrival in 2002 when they released an album built entirely around the key of B- flat minor.

Freed from their major label deal with Sony and now released on UK indie label Fierce Panda, The Raveonettes, bring the distinctly different sounds of their previous two albums together on this their third CD which makes a strong case for lower recording budgets.

"Lust Lust Lust" combines their electro-fuzz sound, close harmony and a more mature set of songs.

Despite the album being (self) recorded without live drums or bass, the feel is not minimal.

Sharin Foo, the lead singer, has been called one of the hottest women in rock and she sustains the interest in what is effectively a set of demos pretty well.

Making music as dark, fuzzed-up and shimmering as the Velvet Underground, Jesus and Mary Chain, Lush and Suicide, this shoddy set of demos is nonetheless their most exciting collection, with tunes such as "Blush" and "You Want the Candy".

There are a few more notes explored here but The Raveonettes' song structure is still a simple one (layers of guitar noise plus pounding drums and sweet vocals).

It works a treat on the nice "Hallucinations" and the rather predictable "Blush", which are both wonderful 60s pop songs cut through with chiming, discordant, ear-piercing feedback, while "The Beat Dies" is pure Twin Peaks camp.

Though things pall a bit towards the end, there's enough bad-dream melodrama to keep it going until then.

The line "I fell in love in heaven to be with you in hell" typifies the album's doomed-lovers theme in the droning, hypnotic song "Lust", and the eastern-influenced "Aly Walk with Me" is as queasy as it's pretty.

With its themes of death, sex and desire, this is the perfect alt-rock soundtrack for fatalist bikers.

Standout Tracks : "Aly Walk With Me" and "You Want The Candy".

The Raveonettes seemed to have been losing their edge with each successive release, perhaps due to pressures from their former label, Colombia, culminating in the decidedly below average "Pretty In Black," but "Lust Lust Lust," the band's first for indie label Fierce Panda, is an excellent step back in the right direction.

Rather than adhere to any set of rules, like all in B-Flat Minor ("Whip It On"), or all in B-Flat Major ("Chain Gang Of Love"), or all bad knock-offs of the Shangri-Las ("Pretty In Black"), the band has thrown out their self-imposed constraints and made what is easily their most cohesive record to date.

While there's nothing here as instantly catchy as "That Great Love Sound" or "Attack of the Ghost Riders," the album flows better than its predecessors, as it doesn't get bogged down by the sameness of having every song played in the same key, a problem which plagued the first two records to varying degrees (how many tunes in one key can you really listen to before they become indistinguishable?). It's also nice to hear the Jesus and Mary Chain-esque distortion, noticably absent on "Pretty In Black," make a return. It's used more sparingly here than in the past, but to no less effect. The band is definitely back on track. Top songs are album opener "'Aly Walk With Me," "Expelled From Love," and "You Want The Candy."

As a fan of the Raveonettes from the first, hour, I was hugely disappointed by their 2005 "Pretty in Black" album, and wondered whether the band would, or even could, find its musical direction again. Since 2005, a lot has happened to the band, including all of their gear being stolen at one point, and the wait for new material was unusually long, but here finally is the new album.

"Lust Lust Lust" (14 tracks, including 2 bonus tracks; 47 min.) starts off with the best track of the album, "Aly, Walk With Me", making it clear that the bad is turning its back to the glossy sound of "Pretty in Black", and instead revisiting the reverb-awashed days of their earliest days. About midway through the track, Sune Rose Wagner crashed in with an ear-splitting guitar reverb and it sounds fantastic. Other highlights for me include "Dead Sound", "You Want the Candy", "Sad Transmission" and the album closer "The Beat Dies". This is the Raveonettes that I came to love on "Whip It On" and "Chain Gang of Love". The album I got came with 2 bonus tracks, "My Heartbeat's Dying" and "Honey I Never Had You", both nice, but non-essential tracks.

In all, I really like this album, what a nice return from the Raveonettes. I've had the good fortune of seeing them in concert a number of times over the years, and they played a tremendous set each time, full of energy. Hope to see them again sometime soon, as I can't wait to see how the songs from "Lust, Lust, Lust" translate in a live setting.

Coming off the heels of their sole major-label record, Pretty In Black, many thought that the Danish couple of Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner would continue the commercial, 50s-pop-fixation of that record. However, with their switch back to an indie label, Lust Lust Lust arrives as a ringing endorsement of their older, fuzz-guitar noise rock.

Opener "Aly, Walk With Me" starts off with a slick drumbeat and a guitar that threatens to overcome the track with reverb. Foo's and Wagner's androgynous vocals are a highlight of the whole record, floating along smoothly in sharp contrast to the bursts of raw noise that the Raveonettes specialize in.

Those same effects, however, are often a detriment to the band's sound, as is apparent in the annoying static effect in "Sad Transmission" and "Expelled from Love," sometimes sounding like you're listening to the band play on a distant AM station located somewhere underground.

Overall, Lust Lust Lust is a strong continuation of the band's pop/noise blend that can at once be sweetly enchanting and nostalgic while still sounding unmistakably fresh.