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Digital letdown
Ra Ra Riot leave Baroque sound, achieve awkward robotic results
By Erik van Rheenen
W
STAFF WRITER
hen 3-1-5 natives Ra Ra Riot performed in Syracuse last semester, Rebecca Zeller,
the band’s violinist, commented on the group’s upcoming album title, “Beta Love.” She said the concept described “the first love program for an android,” and boy, she wasn’t kidding. As a concept album, “Beta Love” almost works, and works perfectly: it’s every bit as clunky, stiff and robotic as it would be watching the Terminator try to find love. But as a Ra Ra Riot album following two fantastic baroque-pop releases? Well, it’s still clunky, stiff and robotic. On paper, it’s an album that should work. Singer Wes Miles cut his electronic teeth on 2009’s fantastic “Discovery,” an electronic-pop side project with Rostam allen chiu | staff photographer
Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend. But opener “Dance With Me” is all sugar and no substance. Miles bumbles through
WES MILES, lead singer of Syracuse-based band Ra Ra Riot, sings at Setnor Auditorium when the band performed on campus on Nov. 14. The band was known for playing Baroque-pop, but opted for digitization on their most recent album, “Beta Love.”
some falsetto runs over chirpy synthesizers, a saccharine mess of overproduction
when he sings lines like “In this city of
the bubbly “I Shut Off,” this android of
cratic future world,” Ra Ra Riot’s sound is
and thumping bass.
robot hearts, ours were meant to be.”
an album powers down clumsily. “That
mired in the past.
But that’s before the album’s concept
It’s a shame, because “Dance With
Much” takes one too many pages from an
Domo arigato for the effort, Ra Ra Riot,
really kicks in. The first notes of “Binary
Me” aside, Miles has never sounded
A-ha songbook, “Wilderness” can’t decide
Mind” sound like a demo Styx might have
better. “Is It Too Much” could slide seam-
what to do with its dysfunctional, looping
ervanrhe@syr.edu
cut for “Mr. Roboto,” and even a flurry
lessly into Discovery’s “LP,” and “Angel
beats and “When I Dream” is a whimper-
@TheRealVandyMan
of hand claps and dizzyingly danceable
Please” is the best ‘80s pop song to come
ing affair with a bass line that sounds
beats can’t keep Ra Ra Riot from laying on
out in 2013. There are quick flashes of
suspiciously like the 808s in Kanye West’s
the robot talk. After Miles croons, “It’s a
promise there that prove it was a smart
“Love Lockdown.”
technocratic future world,” it’s hard not to
move for Ra Ra Riot to ditch baroque
expect a chorus of “domo arigato.”
indie pop for a foray into electronics.
A robot falling in love is kind of a
But the switch from subtle, slow indie
“Beta Love” is the wrong album at the
Genre: Alternative
that “Beta Love” plants itself in an imagi-
to going harder, better, faster and stron-
nary world where robots fall in love like
considering the only great robot love
ger is still head-scratching. “For Once”
awkward teenagers and the synthesizer
song is Daft Punk’s “Digital Love.”
muddles itself in weak production, and
didn’t go out of style after the ‘80s died.
So even though the title track is an
Ra Ra Riot should’ve scratched “What I
The album concept is laid on thick with
infectious arrangement of strings and
Do For U” from the final product.
technobabble to the point of just sounding
Even with a toe-tapping closer like
Sounds like: Robots refusing to throw away their favorite Styx record.
wrong time for Ra Ra Riot. The problem is
silly concept for an album, especially
synth, it’s hard to take Miles seriously
but next time, if it’s baroque, don’t fix it.
goofy, and despite predicting a “techno-
Top track: “Is it too much?”
RA RA RIOT Beta Love
Rating:
Barsuk Records Release Date: Jan. 22
2/5 soundwaves
13