So I've been in Mexico for the last two weeks, and I'm just getting ready to head home. I spent several days in Guadalajara, a day in Mexico City (just long enough to see the Mexican national soccer team play at the Estadio Azteca - amazing), and then spent the good part of this week exploring Cancun and Cozumel. I've dived and snorkeled the surrounding reef, swam with some dolphins, and yesterday we explored the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza and Tulum - and both were magnificent. I can honestly say I have a newfound appreciation for our neighbors to the south.
I tell you all this largely as an excuse. An excuse for why I didn't write sooner about the August 19th release of Ra Ra Riot's first full-length album, The Rhumb Line. You may recall the glowing things we wrote about this group from New York after they played in Salt Lake City in May. They possess a tremendous energy onstage, and an undeniable tightness as a band - and I don't just mean that their sound was tight, I mean they all seemed genuinely close to each other, like they were really just having the time of their life up there together. This (along with the fact that I may have a small crush on their cellist), made their show one of the best I saw this spring and made The Rhumb Line one of my more anticipated releases of the summer.
Unfortunately, as of now I've only been able to hear a few precious morsels from the record, but they're certainly enough to recommend the whole deal to you. Their sound is upbeat and dancy enough to warrant comparisons to their buddies Vampire Weekend, but there's also a good deal of depth to these songs, making them even more rewarding on repeat listens. In other words, I've found a lot to love here. Below is a more polished version of 'Dying is Fine' (which first appeared on their self-titled ep) and my personal favorite so far, album-closer 'Run My Mouth'. Enjoy.
2 comments:
Having heard the album in its entirety, its pretty stellar.
And as a side note, if anyone wants to know what the rhumb line actually is, you should probably ask me.
I've spent four long years in college with no guarantee of getting a job, but I know what a rhumb line is and suddenly I don't feel so bad.
i listened to the whole album yesterday...i liked them. they weren't great. i felt a good combination of a lot of what has been done already by the stars, vampire weekend, and others...some songs were definitely better than others.
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