Most people regard the 1980s as a bad period for music. There were hair metal bands, cheesy synth-pop bands and even a release from comedian Eddie Murphy. “My Girl Likes to Party All the Time,” anyone?
Unfortunately, beneath the multitude of unpleasant records lies perhaps one of the greatest decades of music. Bands like Talking Heads, The Psychedelic Furs, Echo & The Bunnymen, New Order and U2 helped sustain the new wave genre as well as lay groundwork for decades to come.
For the most part, the brighter side of new wave has been trapped 20 years in the past as bands, like the aforementioned U2, have taken their music to a more progressive, adult rock format. But with the first release from New York’s Ra Ra Riot, new wave has been resurrected only to be thrown into a mix of chamber pop and indie rock.
What’s the result?
Forty-four minutes of timeless magic.
Ra Ra Riot’s debut albumn “The Rhumb Line” is a solid effort from the east-coast sextet. The album boasts four songs from last year’s stellar EP and eight new tracks. The new songs greatly compliment the old tunes and sound like anything but filler.
Songs are perfect lengths, never spanning beyond the four-minute and 30 second mark. As a whole, the album flows extremely well and is held together by its carefully-used string section.
As for the actual sound, the band falls into the same niche as fellow New York natives and friends Vampire Weekend, but without the Afro-pop melodies, Oxford shirts and boat shoes.
While Vampire Weekend concentrates on witty lyricisms and mind-numbing drum progressions, Ra Ra Riot sticks with a more conventional indie rock, new wave feel with string arrangements to bring listeners back into the present.
Violin and cello parts are absolutely vital to the wonder of both the album and Ra Ra Riot as a band. The strings fit seamlessly with the conventional indie rock arsenal of guitar, bass and drums. Only on “Winter ’05,” a beautiful and slow, almost classical piece, does one find the strings driving the melody completely. At times Ra Ra Riot sounds a little bit like “Funeral”-era Arcade Fire, another band that cites ’80s new wave as its main influence. Still, the bands share only a chamber pop appeal and, except for a song or two, are on completely different wavelengths.
“The Rhumb Line” opens with “Ghost Under Rocks,” a track that starts with only drum and bass in a progression that invokes the post-punk sound of the late ’80s and early ’90s. As soon as the strings and guitar kick in, though, things head in a little more modern direction. The song was the closer to Ra Ra Riot’s EP, but it acts as a great opener to the band’s first full-length album, especially since it’s such a powerful and driving song.
Singer and keyboardist Wesley Miles’ voice is another asset of the band, as he boasts a great range. Miles’ voice has a sound he can call his own, even though similarities to other lead singers pop in and out throughout the record.
Most notably, hints of ’80s legend Morrissey erupt from Miles’ windpipe, but perhaps it’s just another nod to 20 years ago. During “St. Peter’s Day Festival,” a track not found on Ra Ra Riot’s EP, sounds as if it could be found on The Cure’s “Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me,” complete with Miles’ version of Robert Smith.
“The Rhumb Line” is not a reinvention of the 1980’s music scene by any means. Yes, the influence is obvious in the musical arrangements, lyrical stylings and even in a cover of Kate Bush’s 1982 song “Suspended in Gaffa,” but it’s not what makes Ra Ra Riot so appealing.
The band has taken a genre barely holding itself up on one leg, one that is kept afloat by those same, aging acts of the 1980’s that are still around, and has transformed it into something that sounds simply awesome.
Final Verdict: 8.8