Since ditching the major-label trappings of Columbia and the ultra-polished sound that uglified 2005's Pretty in Black (save for the lovely "Sleepwalking"), Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner have rediscovered their spark, their edge and their sweetness which made them initially so appealing on 2002's Whip it On EP.
While not quite as revelatory as last year's Lust Lust Lust or as eardrum-piercing as their earlier, fuzzier works, In and Out of Control finds the Danish duo keeping scarily consistent with their amalgam of 60s Wall of Sound-inspired pop, noisy garage-rock and bubblegum melodies. While the Raveonettes do little to shake things up on Control, they still have the unique and eerie ability to sugarcoat the most serious of songs with their infectious brand of music, whether dousing warm, fuzzy guitars and tender harmonies over "Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)," honoring The Cars on "Last Dance" or dabbling with dancier elements on "D.R.U.G.S." The slick ruse of "pop" production this time out only adds to The Raveonettes' charm however, and despite sticking to their now overtly-familiar song formula and rarely wavering from it, the band continues to mix insidious and irresistible like no other.