The Raveonettes
Raven in the Grave - Vice
FILTER Grade: 85%

Surf riffs jettisoned, The Raveonettes now seem to be decisively heeding the caliginous call of Mother Europa—the revealingly titled Raven in the Grave is rife with the somber, gossamer 4AD mannerisms of yore. The dreamy longings of “Forget That You’re Young” decisively call up the specter of Cocteau Twins, while “Apparitions,” with menacing gallop and funereal atmospherics, has Clan of Xymox’s mournful markings all over it. It’s such an eerily beautiful, enigmatically romantic record, it might just as easily have been titled Honeymoon in Mitteleuropa.