The Rhumb Line

Performer: Ra Ra Riot
Engineer: Ryan Hadlock
Producer: Ryan Hadlock
Distributor: Redeye Music Distribution

Notes: Ra Ra Riot: Milo Bonacci (guitar); Rebecca Zeller (violin); Alexandra Lawn (cello); Mathieu Santos (bass guitar). Personnel: Wesley Miles (vocals); Cameron Wisch (drums). Audio Mixers: Chuck Brody; Ryan Hadlock. Recording information: Bear Creek Studio, Woodinville, WA. 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." Rolling Stone (p.94) - Ranked #38 in Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums Of 2008 -- "When life's unfairness doesn't' break a band, it makes for a heart-wrenching album." 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."

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