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- Date Released: August 19, 2008
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Rock
- Label: Barsuk Records
On Ra Ra Riot's incredible debut, every song wears a tuxedo.
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We Say...
Long after we've been through sluggish winters and big empty beds and weekend trips to Gloucester, New York quintet Ra Ra Riot state, without pretense or opacity, what it is they are all about. It's simple and direct, and repetition makes it stick: "We’ve got a lot to learn from each other, we have got to stick together."
This is no idle sentiment. Over the course of a fistful of months, Ra Ra Riot went from the center of a whirlwind of hype to the ¬backend of a harrowing tailspin, buffeted by bum label deals, bailing band members and, tragically, the death of drummer and songwriter John Ryan Pike in 2007. If there was any group of people uniquely suited to weigh in on the question of staying together versus falling apart, it's this one.
Tellingly, there's not an elegy in sight on The Rhumb Line — it's all triumph and celebration and unity, turning floodlights on the dark shadows and blowing rude raspberries at the Reaper. There's a brightness that radiates from the record, each song giving off a soft, serene glow.
Maybe it's the strings. Ra Ra Riot uses cello and violin the way other bands use electric guitar: as backbone, carrying the melody instead of complementing it. The instruments make everything sound stately: "St. Peter's Day Festival" would be a simple speedy pop number, but it ascends the second the strings swoop in, gaining poise and stature. It's as if every song were wearing a tuxedo: "Winter '05" is a miniature waltz, just a simple backbeat, the gallant cello and violin and Wes Miles’s plummy, pleading voice. Even the faster ones — and the album is full of faster ones — seem refined. "Each Year" skips giddily forward, guitars twitching, drums tumbling forward, but violin tucked neatly front and center like a pocket square. And they turn Kate Bush's "Suspended in Gaffa" inside out, letting the strings sub for Bush's strange vocalizing and straightening out the cockeyed melody line.
The bulk of the record was written before Pike's passing — many of the songs were written by Pike himself — so any reflection on the tragedy is incidental. It's hard to listen to the ee cummings-cribbing "Dying Is Fine," though, and not notice the prescience. It's a rollicking, breathless number, built around a simple refrain: "You know that dying is fine, but maybe/ I wouldn't like death if death were good." Like most Ra Ra Riot songs, it starts slowly, a few guitar palpitations, a dapper cello, a moody vocal. But it gets to the chorus and it's off, and the glorious melody undercuts the song's somber message. This, of course, is Ra Ra Riot's greatest feat: in their hands, even mourning sounds like celebration. -
They Say...
Although Ra Ra Riot began generating a buzz in New York City at the same time as Vampire Weekend, their ascent from Manhattan's underground to a major-label's roster wasn't nearly as meteoric. Drummer John Pike died in June 2007, putting a temporary halt to Riot's momentum, and the band's long-awaited debut didn't receive the same rush-release treatment awarded to other hipster hitmakers. The Rhumb Line arrives eight months after Vampire Weekend's debut, a delay that actually serves the band well, as it distances them from the hype and resulting backlash that saturated Vampire Weekend's emergence. The bandmates pay homage to Pike in the liner notes (the album is dedicated to the late drummer, who also receives credit for his songwriting and lyric contributions), but the true tribute rests in Ra Ra Riot's music, which sounds far more polished and focused than 2007's self-titled EP. Perhaps most noticeable are the performances by cellist Alexandra Lawn and violinist Rebecca Zeller, both of whom capably alternate between short, focused bowstrokes and legato-style lines. Indie rock isn't a typical home for string sections, but Zeller and Lawn integrate themselves well during songs like "Can You Tell" and "Winter '05," two elegant numbers that revolve around the girls' contributions. Frontman Wes Miles sings those songs with sweet vibrato and a hint of an English accent, sounding like the sort of polite rock star you'd like to bring home to Mom, and guitarist Milo Bonacci deserves kudos for playing sparse, tasteful riffs that leave enough empty space for his bandmates' contributions. Whether they're channeling the '80s on "Too Too Too Fast," mixing indie pop songcraft with lyrics lifted from an e.e. cummings poem during "Dying Is Fine," or covering Kate Bush's "Suspended in Gaffa," Ra Ra Riot sound elated to have finally arrived at this point: the release of their debut, the payoff after a very tough year, and the proof that they're one of 2008's most promising newcomers.
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You Say...
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| 01. |  |
Ghost Under Rocks |
4:24 |  |
| 02. | |
Each Year |
3:17 | |
| 03. | |
St. Peter's Day Festival |
3:32 | |
| 04. | |
Winter '05 |
3:00 | |
| 05. | |
Dying Is Fine |
3:56 | |
| 06. | |
Can You Tell |
2:42 | |
| 07. | |
Too Too Too Fast |
3:49 | |
| 08. | |
Oh, La |
4:42 | |
| 09. | |
Suspended In Gaffa |
3:46 | |
| 10. | |
Run My Mouth |
3:57 | |
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Credits
- Greg Calbi - Mastering // Ryan Hadlock - Producer // Ryan Hadlock - Engineer // Ryan Hadlock - Mixing // Chuck Brody - Mixing // Milo Bonacci - Guitar // Milo Bonacci - Group Member // Edward Knight - Artwork // Edward Knight - Layout Design // Alexandra Lawn - Cello // Alexandra Lawn - Group Member // Wesley Miles - Vocals // Wesley Miles - Group Member // John Pike - Performer // Mathieu Santos - Guitar (Bass) // Mathieu Santos - Group Member // Rebecca Zeller - Violin // Rebecca Zeller - Group Member // Christopher Everhart - Artwork // Christopher Everhart - Layout Design // Patrick Jones - Assistant // Cameron Wisch - Drums
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