This is a monumental post. This is my first attempt at an album review. Ever. So um yeah, if it's a bit rough, that's why.
But one of my favorite bands is releasing an album on Tuesday. Not only an album but their debut album. So if they can release their debut long-player, I can release my debut review.
Anywho.
Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line.
It is no secret that I love this band. One of the best live shows I've ever seen came from them and if I told you how many times I have listened to their EP, you would think less of me as a person. I think this worked against me with The Rhumb Line. I think my complete and total knowledge of their catalog, of every sound and every nuance of their songs, took away from the experience of The Rhumb Line for me.
First, there were no surprises. I knew everything that was on the record and I knew about how it was going to sound.
Second, I already knew how it should sound (or rather, how I wanted it to sound) so naturally when I heard how it actually sounded, I was disappointed.
Don't get me wrong. I love this album. It will be in my top ten for the year BUT it could have been a ton better I feel. I'll start by talking about what I don't like.
I don't like the tracklisting. It's not bad but it's not how I would have done it. I don't think Ghost Under Rocks is a good opening track and I was disappointed to see one of my favorite songs, A Manner To Act, was left off.
I don't like the production. The EP was underproduced. It sounded tepid and hesitant but that also gave it an endearing and warm quality. Wes's vocals were fantastic and full of authentic emotion. But on the LP Wes's vocals sound distant and metallic, as if they were recorded completely apart from the rest of the band.
The songs themselves sound more live, which is a good thing, but there are little things that bug me. Too Too Too Fast is the best Donnie Darko-esque 80's song that is not actually from the 1980's that I've heard. It has a great synth line and a fantastic rave up. Instead of putting the synth up front in the mix, they bury it behind the drums. Still a really good song but it could have been great. Same thing with the great Kate Bush cover, Suspended In Gaffa. If you listen to live recordings of the song, it builds and swell at the climax in a manner that is almost cinematic and that comes off sounding fantastic. The LP version of the song is still great, still builds but it doesn't swell with orchestral grandeur so it ends up feeling a bit flat.
Finally, Dying Is Fine. Great song. But the EP version is hands down better then the LP/current live version. The EP version is 6 minutes long and has this great Modest Mouse-esque jam in the middle. The version they play live (which is the version on the LP) now is only 4 minutes long and the completely cut out the best part of the song, the middle jam. The 4 minute song builds and builds and builds and then just sits there with its tension and does nothing about it. The EP version was so great because it built the same tension but then it released it, much in the manner of a rollar coaster climbing the initial hill. The LP version climbs the hill and stops while the EP version climbs the hill then rushes downward with a flurry of screams and waving arms.
After all that one would likely feel as if I thought this record was a wasted opportunity and a waste in general. But I don't. I love these songs. They do sound great. The recorded versions of the two newer songs (Oh, La and Run My Mouth Off) are fantastic and show an exiting future direction for this band. I love Wes as a front man and a singer and I love their unique set up and instrumentation.
This is a really good record and I can definitively say that your life will be improved by listening to it. Check it out.
7.9/10
Added Bonus! Here is how I would have made the Rhumb Line tracklist. Listen and enjoy! http://thebetterrhumb.muxtape.com/
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