{"id":10511,"date":"2016-04-18T05:30:46","date_gmt":"2016-04-18T09:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=10511"},"modified":"2016-04-01T17:13:42","modified_gmt":"2016-04-01T21:13:42","slug":"tbp-ra-ra-riot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2016\/04\/18\/tbp-ra-ra-riot\/","title":{"rendered":"Ra Ra Riot Move Away from Their Chamber-pop Origins"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"rarariot_cd\"“What it really comes down to,” says Ra Ra Riot<\/strong> vocalist Wes Miles<\/strong>, “is that, as an artist, you don’t ever want to make the same record twice.” That thinking helps explain the abrupt stylistic change between the group’s second album, 2010’s baroque-flavored The Orchard<\/em>, and 2013’s Beta Love<\/em>. For that third album, and on their latest, the newly released Need Your Light<\/em>, the Syracuse, New York-based quintet has moved away from the chamber-pop feel of their earlier records, now favoring a sound that puts greater emphasis on synthesizers and drum textures.<\/p>\n

“After The Orchard<\/em> \u2014 which sounded a bit more like our first record [2008’s The Rhumb Line<\/em>] \u2014 we felt like we were in a little bit of a rut,” admits Miles. “So we felt like we needed to make more drastic changes. And that was jarring for a lot of people who were very attached to the sound of the first record. But it really allowed us a whole new freedom that we hadn’t experienced.” Need Your Light<\/em> doesn’t repeat the previous record’s approach; instead it builds upon it.<\/p>\n

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Ra Ra Riot: ‘Maybe backlash is too strong a word.’ – Photo credit: Shervin Lainez<\/p><\/div>\n

Those early records showed the influence \u2014 though perhaps once or twice removed \u2014 of sonic adventurers like Van Dyke Parks<\/strong> and The Beatles<\/strong>, plus more recent auteurs like Elliott Smith<\/strong>. But Ra Ra Riot’s newer material draws some of its vibe from the popular music of a different decade. Miles says that when he was young, “I definitely listened to Peter Gabriel<\/strong>‘s So<\/em> a lot. I’ve also been a big Kate Bush<\/strong> fan. There’s an ’80s vibe that we will probably always have at least a pinch of, so that often comes through in our music.”<\/p>\n

Miles says that in making Need Your Light<\/em>, Ra Ra Riot also “looked for inspiration from a few places we hadn’t before, like ’90s music, neo-soul stuff.” The album was recorded in multiple sessions, in different locations, with different collaborators. “Having a diverse and dynamic record is always a high priority for us,” Miles says.<\/p>\n