Ra Ra Riot: The Rhumb Line

Ra Ra Riot have come a long way in just two years. After making a name for themselves as one of the most energetic live bands in Syracuse, New York, releasing a self-titled EP, and raising some eyebrows at CMJ festival, the quintet seemed destined for stardom. Sadly, though, along the way, they lost drummer, co-songwriter, co-vocalist and founder John Ryan Pike when he tragically drowned in 2007. But where many bands might folded under the new-found malaise, Ra Ra Riot instead persevered, making do with what they had, and created The Rhumb Line (Barsuk) one of this year’s best indie-pop debut albums.

On The Rhumb Line, Ra Ra Riot puts a refreshingly new spin on having a string section in an indie rock band by placing the string sections in the foreground of the mix, making them the driving force in a majority of the songs. But among the elegantly rendered strings, the band has also sprinkled the album with frenzied drumbeats, silky-stringed guitar hooks, punching bass lines, and rich vocal harmonies, the likes of which are only complimented by Ra Ra Riot‘s relentless energy on the The Rhumb Line, as well as the avid emotion worn on their sleeves (see “Dying Is Fine” and “Oh, La”).

On tracks like “Ghost Under Rocks” and “St. Peter’s Day Festival,” the band finds a underlying rawness that normally would evade such sweet pop songs, but RRR manages to find it and translate it to the listener fluidly.

– Michael Danaher

Ra Ra Riot: www.rarariot.com

Barsuk: www.barsuk.com