|
| The Rhumb Line | 
 enlarge | Artist: Ra Ra Riot
Label: Barsuk
Category: Music
List Price: $11.98
Buy New: $7.98
You Save: $4.00 (33%)
New (31) Used (10) from $7.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 2035
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 31077
UPC: 655173107720
EAN: 0655173107720
ASIN: B001B92EHG
Release Date: August 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Tracks:
| • | Ghost Under Rocks | | • | Each Year | | • | St. Peter s Day Festival | | • | Winter 05 | | • | Dying Is Fine | | • | Can You Tell | | • | Too Too Too Fast | | • | Oh, La | | • | Suspended in Gaffa | | • | Run My Mouth |
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Following a trying summer during which the band dealt with the death of drummer and founding member John Pike, Ra Ra Riot regrouped and recorded this debut full-length, which features nine originals and the best Kate Bush cover ("Suspended In Gaffa") you've ever heard. Their earlier self-titled EP and dark-edged joyfulness onstage garnered acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone, Nylon, NPR, and NME. They've toured with Tokyo Police Club and Editors and will headline their own tour in support of this release.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Holy, violins, batman. August 19, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
It's a shame. Ra Ra Riot is likely to remain in the shadow of Vampire Weekend because they released their debut full length second. There are similarities with Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend and most of it stems from both lead singers sounding identical. The shame from that is that Ra Ra Riot is so much better than the comparable Vampire Weekend. Their production is more sound. Their songwriting is deeper and more meaningful. Their execution is flawless. Their album is more consistent and cohesive. Regardless, for those who take notice of this wonderful band and their debut LP, "The Rhumb Line," will no doubt benefit from their clement symphonies.
The album starts of proper with "Ghosts Under Rocks." This is my personal favorite song of the album from all the "oooohs", the frantic guitar strumming and the melancholy violins. The vocals are enchanting and the drumming is not slighted. "Dying Is Fine" shows everyone Ra Ra Riots obvious post-punk scene influence which is native to their hometown state, New York. A sound similar to The Strokes, albeit much more diverse and subsequently more interesting. On "Oh, La" there are more pounding drums and melancholy violins which take possession of the listeners free will and paralyze any attempt to divert attention from its beauty.
If I've mentioned violins and drums in one song then I've mentioned the essence of all the songs from this album. Every song is latent with violins, guitars, wonderful drums, sometimes with cellos and sometimes with obos. Don't dare let that repetitious proclamation deter you. This album never tires from beginning to end. Every song is a good listen and it's fairly easy to find some songs that stand out greater than others. This album definitely stands out more than others in this wonderful year of indie music.
 The Rhumb Line August 21, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
On Ra Ra Riot's debut album, "The Rhumb Line," the band plumbs the depths of indie music's oldest and newest influences. The record sounds something like a mix of Vampire Weekend and The Cure with some of the rock-oriented production values of Wolf Parade. As the other reviewer stated, the album will likely be stuck under the shadow of Vampire Weekend's successful debut self-titled LP, simply due to the fact that it came out first, and indie music fans are often the first to cry copy-cat. However, "The Rhumb Line" is a varied and engaging listen, and though the similarities are certainly there between Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend, calling this a mere clone would not do the band justice.
The first track opens with some of that Wolf Parade flair mentioned at the beginning of this review, but quickly opens into a sweeping arrangement of strings, building tension as the drums create a frantic, harried pace. The second track apes a very specific Cure sound in the guitar tone, but lyrically and stylistically, the song is unique and fun, finding a good blend of symphonic pop and new-wave swagger. The album addresses the typical moods of a love-lorn indie frontman, and so while the lyrics may have little new to say on the subject, they don't detract from the music or the album as a whole.
All in all, it's a record of lovely, heartfelt pop, and there's nothing wrong with that.
A perfect debut August 22, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I've been following this young band from Syracuse since their initial demo EP. Two years of endless touring have helped to fine tune their catalog of songs into genuine gems. Even tracks that previously surfaced on their self-titled EP like "Can You Tell" have been transformed here with stronger arrangements and an added emphasis on backing vocals from string player Alexandra Lawn (who compliments the lead vocals by Wes Miles perfectly on several cuts).
Ra Ra Riot have had some extreme ups and downs over the past few years, but every experience, good and bad, has given depth to their musicianship and helped to inform the spirit of this incredible debut. It's an impressive collection of songs and I look forward to following them for many years to come.
Ra Ra Riotous! September 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It has been an interesting phenomenon to see the emergence of the popularity of alternative instruments in the typical rock band format - not just as a novelty act, and mere ear candy like you get in studio albums and such - but alternative instruments becoming solid members of the band. For example, with groups like Arcade Fire, DeVotchka, Matt Pond PA, and the Decemberists, instruments like harps, violins, cellos, accordions, etc. are helping to expand on the archetypal rock sound.
A group out of Syracuse, NY, and contemporaries of the popular group Vampire Weekend, Ra Ra Riot is the newest Chamber Pop Rock group to hit the mainstream market. The upstate New York Quintet recently released their first full length album 'The Rhumb Line' on August 19, 2008 to a generally welcoming reception. The album is full of nautical and dark themes such as death and water, but never gets too bogged down in depression, and has some light upbeat moments to help balance out the album.
I personally have to admit that I'm a sucker for groups which incorporate strings into their ranks, and as for Ra Ra Riot, the co-ed band has a cellist (Alexandra Lawn) and violinist (Rebecca Zeller). This supplementation adds a darker, more lush layer of sound to the group, which proves to be their secret weapon to their success. The song 'Too Too Too Fast' on the album strangely enough doesn't feature Rebecca or Alexandra playing prominently, and proves to be the dullest, and weakest track on the album. Without the prominence of the strings, the track begins to sound like a poor 80's covers, laden too thick with synthesizers to help cover up the lack of the strings.
One of my personal favorite tracks on the album is the song 'Ghost Under Rocks', which begins with a moody cello and bass line which helps introduce the album. The Chorus embodies the nautical death theme prevalent on the album with the lyrics:
"Here you are you are breathing life into
Ghosts under rocks like notes found
In pocket coats of your fathers
Lost and forgotten
All all all your soaking wet dreams
You've spent them
You have gone and dreamt them
Dry, now you ask your babies why, why, why"
The song was actually on the bands EP which they released before the death of their old drummer John Ryan Pike (who co-wrote a majority of the songs on the Rhumb Line Album.)The eerie thing about this track is that it seems to foreshadow the recent tragic death of John Ryan Pike who was found drowned early last summer after a show in Providence, Rhode Island. Even after the death of a founding member of the group, Ra Ra Riot soldiered on.
Other tracks such as "Each Year" (with images of cemetery flowers) 'Winter 05,' and 'Dying is Fine' continue the darker motifs of the album. Dying is Fine, (the first single promoted for the album), pulls some of its lyrics from the e.e.cummings poem by the same name - and even though it appears macabre, it never falls too much into darker pessimism, and remains pretty optisimistic with the strings being upbeat and the lead singer Wes Miles vocals gently singing the lyrics.
Winter 05' written by the groups new lead vocalist Wes Miles is regal and has a tinge of 'Eleanor Rigby' in it as the violin and cello compose a wonderful baroque melody. Once again, the music helps disguise the darker meaning of the lyrics:
'If you were here/Winter wouldn't pass quite so slow/And if you were here/Then i'd have a choice to live not be alone/But instead I sit atop the crest/Looking down on the valley where the dead rest/And every morning I wake beside myself'
The lighter tracks on the album, like 'Can you Tell','St. Peter's Day Festival', 'Oh, La', 'Suspended in Gaffa' (Kate Bush cover) are a nice change of pace from the deeper songs of the album. The song St. Peter's Day Festival has a similar drive and beat like Vampire Weekend's M79, and this proves to be one of the shortcomings of Ra Ra Riot- they are too overshadowed by Vampire Weekend's previous success, and their lead singer Wes Miles, sounds way too much like Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend.
To sum up- Ra Ra Riots album is a nice little gem of chamber pop melodies - their supplementation of the strings in their arrangements helps set the band apart from other Indie Rock groups. Song wise, the album never becomes too dark or too bright and poppy to make it feel unbalanced - however I would be worried about this group becoming too 80's synthesizer, discotheque driven like their tracks (Too Too Too Fast, and 'Can You Tell' {Epochs Remix}) in future albums they put out.
~Andrew Joslyn
http://dbjoslyn.blogspot.com/
Excellent album to round out the summer, and get into the fall August 29, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
There has been a lot of recent buzz around vampire weekend, and it's arguable to say that these guys' sound exactly the same. They have similar sounding vocals, and they're both working the east coast vibe though. These are a bunch of fun and smart songs. They're not only worth a listen, but worth owning. Take this album home, and crank it up on the way with the windows down. Once you learn the lyrics you no doubt will be joining along with the windows down as long as the season permits.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
