2024-03-15 14:16:19
More accessible and conventional, also more aesthetic and more pleasant to consume: the ninth Hurray for the Riff Raff-Album The Past is Still Alive warmly invites you with its Alt Country and Americana sound.
The successor to the also hardly pretentious one Life on Earth from 2019, in the followingmath of the death of Alynda Segarra’s father, actually became a record of mourning work: motifs of the restless search for roots, the passing of time and the loneliness of those left behind, memories and the friction from the past, present and future determine the content. In combination with the graceful rusticity of the music and the melodically accessible elegance of the songwriting, it works The Past is Still Alive not only a bit wise in an unspectacular way, no, the comforting nostalgia and optimistic melancholy of the personal and intimate introspective look also works more directly on an emotional level than some of Hurray for the Riff Raff’s more artfully designed albums do.
With the support of, among others, Mike Mogis, Conor Oberst (who was out of time The World Is Dangerous performs a romantic duet: “Your dreams are not your dreams/ They’re only visions of what you need/ You’re not the person you thought you’d be/ But I still love you“) Brad Cook, Phil Cook or SG Goodman definitely put the catchy tunes in their hands.
Alibi as calm folk rock with a gentle Americana leaning, shimmering hopefully, warm and soft, while the bittersweet rippling sway of Buffalo directly into the arms of Big Thief leads and Hawkmoon as a fine single is driven more roughly. Colossus of Roads runs confidently and longingly “Of the night, baby, of the night“ and the smooth dancing one Snakeplant (The Past Is Still Alive) treats itself to on-the-road instant
Also Vetiver leans back towards the open horizon and lets the guitars howl (“It’s all in the past, but the past is still alive/ The root of me lives in the ballast by the mainline“) Meanwhile Hourglass sadly shuffles wintry with broom, violin and piano, wallowingly sad and lovingly beautiful. And before Kiko Forever Farewell as a moody jazz sample outro, frays Ogallala cozy to the jam approach and wallows in pessimism in an almost disturbingly pleasant way: “I used to think I was born into the wrong generation/ But now I know I made it right on time/ …./ To watch the world burn/ With a tear in my eye/ I’m right on time“.
With a mild, smiling lump in the throat, it just ended too abruptly Dynamo (with its springy drums, folky airiness and poppy cuteness) a little too long, too monotonous and out of place in the overall structure.
Regardless of this small flaw, it has never felt so easy to immerse yourself in such a comprehensive mass of songs Hurray for the Riff Raff to fall in love. That time may have less to discover, and itself The Past is Still Alive There is obviously no reason to fear that they might wear out more quickly than his previous works: the clear plus in simplistic accessibility gives Alynda Segarra’s songs a truly universal, engaging familiarity, the essence of which is like a shoulder to lean on: “It’s been a lonely year/ Everyone left, but I’m still right here/ I won’t desert you when times get rough/ Tell the bartender when you’ve had enough/ It’s not the same/ It’s getting better/ It’s been a change in the weather/ It feels so extreme.“
similar posts
Print article
1710618282
#Hurray #Riff #Raff #Alive
