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Influenced by indie pop comrades, Ra Ra Riot releases an album that follows but can’t lead.

by richard

Ra Ra Riot

The Orchard: Barsuk Records

It wouldn’t be rude to claim that Ra Ra Riot draws it’s style from the amusing, hip sounds of the trendy and likeable Vampire Weekends, Phoenixes and the Sugar Ros’s of the world, but by doing so, they lock themselves in a genre of music that is comparable to a long tunnel that is easy to drive in to but hard to drive out of.

The Syracuse native’s second full length album, The Orchard, is easy to define – well orchestrated crescendo-ing/ decrescendo-ing violins, upbeat danceable percussion and the oddly attractive wimpy vocals. The remnants of the spray-on affect that Ezra Koenig and the rest of the indie pop bus has on Ra Ra is undeniably strong, and its exactly not an insult.

Yes, it’s a familiar story with faint disparities: vocalist Wes Miles’ reserved, dignified voice sails through Orchard as cellist Alexandra Lawn and violinist Rebecca Zeller serve as the boat. “The Orchard,” and “Keeping It Quiet,” both launch and land Orchard in seaworthy fashion as the opener and closer.

The band eventually turns the power up before toning it down and they manage to do it with the same drippy vibe.  On “Too Dramatic,” a young lad is discredited and ignored by taking up the role of drama queen in his life, while a tambourine jiggles to the rapid melodies of the cello and violin. “Do You Remember,” which features the line, “Don’t let me be afraid/ Oh a little life apart/ Darling say something/ Oh I never could/ Can I get you alone tonight,” is a brave song that features bold mixing by VWs Rostam Batmanglij. Despite the fact that, like many of the other songs on Orchard, there is little-to-no guitar, Batman and Miles prove to be a formidable duo.

This is a calmer, more easy listening type of Ra Ra. Tranquil vocal melodies that jab quickly and often, inhabit almost every track. Mathieu Santos’ adapting bass wallops differently to each song it encounters. Vampire Weekend’s “Holiday” comes to mind with every erratic snare from “Boy,” while the fully orchestrated post verse/ pre-chorus pieces of “Massachusets” waft solemnly similar to Phoenix’s “Love Like A Sunset, Pt. 1 and 2.” It’s a cup of ice cream that only deserves liking, not loving.

The face that Orchard offers is pretty, yearning to be beautiful. It is put out by a favorable band whom has the formula to make likeable music. Frantic to not let an ugly moment pass, it moves from song to song with the same anticipating jiff hoping a mediocre song could pass for an excellent one.  Having said that, no matter how much makeup The Orchard has on, it’s still just okay.

Buy the album at our record store on Amazon

Here is a link to the song “Boy”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKGfQCOyCCA

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