Home > Music > Rock > Alternative > The Rhumb Line

Performer: Ra Ra Riot
Distributor: Redeye Music Distribution

Notes: Ra Ra Riot: Milo Bonacci (guitar); Rebecca Zeller (violin); Alexandra Lawn (cello); Mathieu Santos (bass guitar). The first album from this band out of Syracuse is a triumph of resilience, as it follows the early departure of their frontman and the even more devastating death of their drummer (and fellow songwriter) in 2007. Playing largely upbeat rock-meets-chamber-pop, kind of like Editors with strings, Ra Ra Riot strikes a remarkable balance between zest for life and bittersweet regret. On "Dying is Fine," singer Wes Miles embraces death but hesitates. You hear the heartbreak in the mournful strings and minor-key moments, and the rebounding embrace of life in vibrant songs like "St. Peter's Day Festival." THE RHUMB LINE, in its depth and emotional variety, sounds like a stalwart band's mid-career watermark, which makes the debut that much more impressive.

Rolling Stone (p.84) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Ra Ra Riot combine Arcade Fire's orchestral reveries with Vampire Weekend's pop sensibility for an album that's both effervescent and heartbreaking." Spin (p.122) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he cello-rocking sextet has consistently inserted bubblegum earnestness into Arcade Fire melodrama....This nimble full-length wrings catharsis from pop with no lapses into pretension." Alternative Press (pp.150-151) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] majestic cover of Kate Bush's 'Suspended In Gaffa' is simply magical, its classical grace channeling DeVotchKa's finest moments."

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.5