CD of The Week

Written and recorded following the death of songwriter Sune Rose Wagner's father, Pe'ahisees The Raveonettes approaching even darker subject matter than they have before, simply by virtue of being personal. The album's opener, "Endless Summer," kicks off with the lyric, "There's sand in my shoes/and death on my mind," which not only serves as a mission statement for the entire album, but a proper lead-in to a song about Wagner's near-drowning while surfing. It's a song dripping with dread and soaked in the usual distortion, but you might notice more complex breakbeats in there, rather than the simpler, more direct percussion of their earlier efforts.

Indeed, Pe'ahi isn't just a more reflective album, but more experimental as well. Wagner and his longtime collaborator Sharin Foo continue to shroud their voices in reverb and fuzz, but they (along with producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen) layer on more instruments--a xylophone here, a harp there (as in "Sisters"). And the subject matter doesn't just linger on one incident: the entire album focuses on Wagner, from his difficult relationship with his father to the impact of his father's behavior on his own relationships (a topic made uncomfortably explicit in "Kill!").

Given The Raveonettes' "Phil Spector meets Kevin Shields" sound, it's not too far a leap for them to include surf rock in their repertoire. But for those expecting the usual brand of noise-drenched retro pop from the Danish duo, you're going to be surprised. (Then again, you're probably surprised anyway, given The Raveonettes didn't even bother with advance notice for Pe'ahi.) It's a bold, acidic album, venturing away from the stylistic exercises of their previous work into a deeper, bleaker sound. It's also one of their best albums yet.