Sounds Like: A powerful reminder that our humanity is not limited by man made borders or unjust laws.
When I lived in Seattle, I had a boss who LOVED music. We’d often discuss bands and what we were listening too. Hurray for the Riff Raff was band he would mention frequently. So much that I made a note to really spend some time listening to them. I knew the name, but never listened to any of their albums. But then life happened. So when I saw that they had a new release at the start of the year, I made a point to use that as my jumping off point.
“LIFE ON EARTH” is an album I have revisited constantly this year, and with each listen, but my excitement not just for the album but also the band continued to grow. Hurray for the Riff Raff is the project of Alynnda Segarra. With “LIFE ON EARTH” they’ve created a record that is personal, political, spiritual, and everything in between. What’s truly striking about this record is how it oozes with humanity. The songs remind you what it means to be a human on this earth, and how we as a species have tendency to make it harder for each other.
Listening to life on Earth is a journey, the opening couple of tracks are percussive and bright, culminating with “RHODODENDRON” before descending into quieter but no less compelling numbers. As the album unfolds, the percussive nature of the songs subtly degrades, until you arrive at the album’s title track right at the heart of the running order. “LIFE ON EARTH” is a captivating mediation done solely on piano, and is served incredibly well by how the proceeding tracks set us up for it.
From there the album keeps the tempo slower, butt the emotito still run high. “PRECIOUS CARGO” is an absolutely devastating rap that speaks to an harrowing life of an immigrant. it’s the type of song that would fail in lesser hands, but here it has poignancy that works withtoe overall theme of the album.
“LIFE ON EARTH” is that rare work that reminds us that there is more to the human condition than our individual experiences. At time percussive, and other times reflective, it wears its heart on its sleeve. Feel it beat, watch it bleed, and most of all, give it love.
Favorite Track: “PIERCED ARROWS” might be my favorite, but throughout 2022, I found myself repeating the refrain of the title track like a mantra, and would reach for it like a weighted blanket
INTUITION OF THE INSTANT
CARGO COLLECTIVE LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
CARGO COLLECTIVE LOS ANGELES, CALIF.