Jon Chattman's thecheappop.com

Despite suffering through the tragic death of a bandmate, chamber pop group Ra Ra Riot has produced a well-balanced, emotionally evocative debut. The band’s greatest strength is its strings. Both cello and violin are put to good use here, adding a haunting, ethereal undertone to much of the album, while occasionally swelling up with an orchestral exuberance. Ra Ra Riot takes this musical talent and combines it with the catchy rhythms of pop and a talent for adopting good source material (see their excellent cover of Kate Bush’s “Suspended in Gaffa” and their use of e.e. cummings’ poetry in ‘Dying is Fine”) to add texture to a collection of songs that is still very much rock ‘n’ roll at its heart. But what makes this disc especially enjoyable is the way Ra Ra Riot clearly revels in their musicmaking, adding an extra energy and warmth to their songs that would be otherwise hard to match.
- Helen Horn-Mitchem

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