It’s that time of year. School is starting, the air is cooling (hopefully) and the apples are ripening in the trees. In accordance with the season, Ra Ra Riot released their latest album The Orchard. Although the pickings from this Orchard can’t be peeled and made into pies, they are similarly bursting with musical flavor.
“The Orchard,” the title track, introduces the tone of the album. Immediately devotees will identify a more somber shade to Ra Ra Riot’s sound and peg the feeling of the music as contemplative and wounded.
The group from Syracuse, N.Y., presents a limited scope of emotionality on the album. The Orchard highlights anger with the lyrics, “My life is gone and my body aches. All this blood in my mouth makes me hate.” Moving from anger, the band develops apathy in greater depth using both “Massachusetts” and “Foolish” to showcase the emotion. Only the song “Kansai,” referring to the south-central region of Japan’s main island, depicts a lighter emotion, acceptance, with the lyrics, “The universe is merciful.”
Though Ra Ra Riot mindfully presents the more melancholy side of human feeling, the band’s technique fits its theme perfectly. The band builds the intensity of most songs to climax just as the songs conclude, heightening their impact. With their latest, Ra Ra Riot sheds some much-needed light on the realities of life and love that lack the airbrushed sheen of Hollywood.
Ra Ra Riot makes good use of Wes Miles’ talented voice. He elevates the album with control while still conveying genuine emotion. In The Orchard, a violin matches Miles’ vocal sighs, and the song “Foolish” showcases the full capacity of his voice. Miles’ voice rises to the challenge instigated by the violins in the latter part of the song.
Aside from vocals, Ra Ra Riot’s use of violins defines the album. Through crescendos and decrescendos, violins intensify songs like “The Orchard” and “Massachusetts.” In “Too Dramatic,” the band successfully paired the violin to work in conjunction with the guitar.
Such seamless musical composition won’t make for an instant rave jam, but subsequent listens will reveal the intricacy and talent that defines the work. The three-part vocal layering in “Do You Remember” and the electronic effects in “Foolish” add subtle pizzazz to the album and will refresh listeners, keeping them engaged during the 10-track work.
Despite the logical flow of the work, the track “You and I Know” will jump out as the only song on the album featuring female vocals. The track presents a more whimsical sound reminiscent of a calliope at a beach carnival.
On the album, Ra Ra Riot incorporates elements that will remind listeners of similarly successful artists. The beat and guitar line that leads off the track “Boy” will bring The Strokes instantly to mind, while naming a track “Massachusetts” gives a nod to Vampire Weekend’s “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.”
Though the yield from Ra Ra Riot’s Orchard emphasizes a more tart side of human existence, the sweetness of their melancholy musical wanderings won’t surprise fans who know the group’s talent could make any subject blossom.
4 out 5 stars
