Ra Ra Riot – The Orchard
Once it is over, you knock yourself multiple times on the head for ever having doubts in the first place, and go straight away for round two. This is a good thing because, just like re-reading a book, listening to The Orchard the second time around makes you notice all the little details that were missed during the first listen (it also consolidates your growing love for it). Pay close attention and you might hear some of the lovely background talking in one of the tracks, and sometimes unidentifiable objects used as extra percussion, amongst many other fun little counter harmonies that seem to pop up every so often.
It’s obvious that The Orchard has had a lot of work put into it. You might not hear it with superficial listening, but upon deeper listening you can hear its greatness in quality. From start to finish all you hear is richness, clarity, and sounds that are perfectly differentiable. Apart from the poppy synth melodies and sweeping strings, percussion and bass also have their fair moments of shine. Wes Miles’ vocals are flawless as usual and combined with Alexandra Lawn and Rebecca Zeller’s violin and cello playing you are almost guaranteed to swoon, while Mathieu Santos’ bass lines, Milo Bonnaci’s guitar solos and Gabriel Duqette’s drumming keep your heart pumping at a steady pace. Although the album starts quite stripped down, percussions and guitar being completely omitted from “The Orchard”, the pace is quickly picked up with the following tracks, “Boy” and “Too Dramatic”.
Ra Ra Riot weren’t afraid to give the album a good mix of upbeat and softer moments, all the while managing to keep the contrast bearable. No instrument went through a song without having a few seconds of rest to let another instrument get some exposure. They also dabbled in a myriad of different music genres, varying from orchestral indie rock to dancy disco pop to what could only be described as African inspired harmonies on “Massachusetts”. A true little gem is “You And I Know”, in which Alexandra Lawn completely takes over on vocals; an unexpected, but most beautiful surprise. Her voice is raw, possibly from lack of training, but a perfect fit for the mood and lyrics. Her phrasing is filled with delicate breaks, almost making one wonder whether she was taken over by emotion before the recording session. Another truly enjoyable track is “Do You Remember”, one of those songs that tricks you into thinking it’s over, but really isn’t, and booms back at you with another verse and chorus midway. But Ra Ra Riot definitely kept the best for last. “Keep It Quiet” will make your heart melt with its simplicity and its lyrics of abandonment that are perhaps slightly reminiscent of songs you would find on the band’s debut album, The Rhumb Line.
Although The Orchard may not be the Ra Ra Riot that people are used to hearing from previous recordings, I highly recommended you give it a chance. It is a wonderful piece of work that has had an immense amount of effort and care put into it. They secluded themselves in a peach orchard for heaven’s sake! One can never compare previous works of an artist to newer ones, because people change, as well as situations and environments, and that is the beauty of it. -Sarve A.
