Hurray for the Riff Raff "The Past Is Still Alive" (2024)

The Past Is Still Alive

release date: Feb. 23, 2024

format: vinyl (translucent orange crush) / digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,08]

producer: Brad Cook

label: Nonesuch - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Alibi" (4 / 5) (live) - 2. "Buffalo" - 3. "Hawkmoon" (4 / 5) - 4. "Colossus of Roads" (4 / 5) - 5. "Snake Plant (The Past Is Still Alive)" (4 / 5) (live) - 6. "Vetiver" - 8. "Dynamo" - 9. "The World Is Dangerous"

9th studio album by Hurray for the Riff Raff following two years after the acclaimed Life on Earth (Feb. 2022) and is like that made with producer Brad Cook, who also plays bass on the album. Alynda Segarra is credited all songs.

Stylewise, the album is more folk-oriented as opposed to the indie rock feel of the 2022 album, and although the predecessor is a true gem this definitely has other strengths but most of all only establishes Segarra as one of the finest contemporary American singer /songwriters.

The Past Is Still Alive is one of this year's best albums and as such an album you should know.

Highly recommended.

EDIT Aug. 13, 2024:

Last night I experienced Hurray for the Riff Raff live at Voxhall, Aarhus, and that was just an absolute fabulous concert with a playfull four-piece and Alynda in peak performance. The band mostly played the songs from this new album, but instead of just repeating the studio arrangements, they trew the rock-version at us. I really enjoy the album but I must say: in a rock-frame these songs all shined ever so brightly. The releative small audience were all cheering and clapping for more 'cause Segarra and the band showed us what a great act they are. At times they played tight, soulful and bluesy reminding me of Neil Young & Crazy Horse or Alabama Shakes, at other times they hit repetive intervals that made me think of Band of Horses, at other times it was southern guitar rock in the style of Kings of Leon, and then most of the time they just sounded like no one else and led by one shiny Alynda Segarra. Over time and with a matured set of songs, this album has come out even stronger, and I feel it's closing in on another peak for Hurray for the Riff Raff as a strong contender to album of the year.

[ allmusic.com, Line of Best Fit 4,5 / 5, BeatsPerMinute 85 / 100, Pitchfork 8,3 / 10, Exclaim! 4 / 5 stars ]

2024 Favourite releases: 1. Adrienne Lenker Bright Future - 2. Hurray for the Riff-Raff The Past Is Still Alive - 3. Cassandra Jenkins My Light, My Destroyer

Hurray for the Riff Raff "Life on Earth" (2022)

Life on Earth

release date: Feb. 18, 2022

format: vinyl (gatefold) / digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,14]

producer: Brad Cook

label: Nonesuch - nationality: USA

Track highlights: A) 1. "Wolves" - 2. "Pierced Arrows" - 3. "Pointed at the Sun" (4 / 5) - 4. "Rhododendron" - 5. "Jupiter's Dance" - - B) 1. "Nightqueen" - 2. "Precious Cargo" - 3. "Rosemary Tears" - 4. "Saga"

8th studio album from New Orleans project band Hurra for the Riff Raff is the band's first on Nonesuch. From its origins as a multi-piece orchestra, the band has become synonymous with songwriter, composer, lead singer and guitarist Alynda Mariposa Segarra (aka Alynda 'Lee' Segarra) with roots in Puerto Rico and raised in the Bronx, New York. The band's name loosely translates to "Hurrah for the Pack" meaning 'the underprivileged' (the homeless, the unemployed, immigrants) which relates to Segarra's own life lived on the American highways and as a blind passenger on freight trains, which was the preferred mode of transportation, after they [Alynda identifies as non-binary] ran away from their foster parents (their uncle and aunt) in the Bronx and headed for New Orleans. From here, Segarra ended up as a street musician and for a time they played banjo and washboard in the street band Dead Man Street Orchestra from 2007 to 2010, and with the band Hurray for the Riff Raff they made two self-released albums in 2008 and 2010, and they feature on Six Feet Down (2010) with the band Tuba Skinny, which was an offshoot of the Dead Man Orchestra. In 2011, Segarra released the album Hurray for the Riff Raff on the Loose label in 2011, whereas the 2012 follow-up Look Out Mama (also on Loose) is released as a band release. With 2013's My Dearest Darkest Neighbor, the band appears once again seemingly reduced to a solo project, (self-released and credited to Segarra's own label 'Mod Mobilian Records' and This Is American Music), which feature recordings from a 2013 UK tour. The most recent two albums Small Town Heroes (2014) and The Navigator from 2017 again seem like pure solo releases. The former is, however, recorded with several old acquaintances such as drummer and violinist Yosi Pearlstein, guitarist Sam Doores, and bassist Dan Cutler, who have all appeared on previous albums and they also played with the band on live tours but are not regular instrumentalists on all tracks and the cast credits reflect more that it's Segarra together with a wide variety of others. The album The Navigator is, like all previous studio albums, solely written and composed by Segarra, and here all other participating musicians are completely new names.

Life on Earth is undoubtedly Segarra's most beautifully produced album, although the predecessor also offered more tracks and reflected a more committed technical preparation than the more lo-fi arranged predecessors, which on the one hand are more closely connected to life as a street musician and on the other hand are not made to satisfy radio stations and the music industry as such. With Life on Earth, Segarra takes the full step as a significant contemporary artist with well-formed arrangements and a strong commitment to express their mind. It is a hybrid form of modern singer / songwriter which both echoes 70's folk rock as well as contain hints of punk rock's directness and social / political engagement (The Clash), and at the same time they make use of elements from classic rock and modern indie pop in a balanced form of their own. Some might point to similar traits from PJ Harvey, early St. Vincent, or other strong personalities in music, but it is most of all a highly original blend - and perhaps this type of comparison automatically happens when a single artist narrates with both sophisticated sting and sincerity, because Alynda Segarra's expression comes from a strong personality, and from someone who with their own distinctive melancholy and at the same time a devilish energy, which saturates a number of beautiful, relevant and original compositions.

The album has already garnered good reviews, and Hurray for the Riff Raff has entered the charts with the album and has appeared in major national TV shows.

In my opinion, Life on Earth is no less than one of the absolute best of the year, and naturally a highly recommended album.

[ bandcamp ]

[ Pitchfork 8,3 / 10, The Guardian 4 / 5 stars]

2022 Favourite releases: 1. Stromae Multitude - 2. Hurray for the Riff Raff Life on Earth - 3. Big Thief Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You