"Okay, look: I freely admit that today’s Introducing post could potentially be seen as a bit slow off the mark. Does a band still qualify as new if they’ve released two full-length albums and formed six years ago? No, probably not. Whatever: Rah Rah were new to me. Besides, as much as it’s fun to discover a band when they’re just taking off, it tends to lead to frustration and/or disappointment. You wait for ages for each little musical morsel to be released, and half the time the supply runs dry all too soon. Stumble on an established artist, though, and there’s plenty to get your teeth into.
I have an excuse, anyway. They’re from Saskatchewan – Regina, specifically. Last time I checked (which was about five minutes before writing this), Saskatchewan was three times the size of the UK, and had a third of the population. I’m guessing news there does not travel especially fast.
When Rah Rah first formed in 2005 it was as a three-piece, but they’ve since more than doubled in size. Unsurprisingly, Erin and Joel Passmore, Kristina Hedlen, Vanessa Benson, Dan Crozier, Marshall Burns and Leif Thorseth manage to cover a fair range of instruments between them: from the standard back-line of guitar, bass and drums to more folky influences like fiddle and accordion. Also, there’s lots of boy-girl interplay on the vocals. All of this makes them sound a little like this other Canadian band you might have heard of, called Arcade Fire (come on, it’s been at least a month since I mentioned them), but if you’re thinking the two might sound similar, think again. On the contrary, they sound much more like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
I’m a big fan of Canadian music. There’s a core of groups over there who have a real knack for making what can only be described as pop without sacrificing their respective Pitchfork Quotients (that’s a technical term) – I’m thinking of the likes of Stars, The New Pornographers, to an extent Metric. It’s amongst these groups that Rah Rah find their place. Their sophomore album, “Breaking Hearts” – which gets its UK release on the 14th of November – is a pretty thoroughly upbeat and approachable affair.
At times they have a touch of Regina Spektor baroque (the superb “What About Love?” springs to mind); at other times they have the same dense and driven tone that Lush were peddling a couple of decades ago. Occasionally they slow things down, to mixed results. The fairly sparse “Beaches” didn’t do much for me, but the slow-building album closer “Parkade” is a treat well worthy of Broken Social Scene. Oh, and you can also download it free below, and even watch the OCD-inducing video, because we honestly love nothing more than spoiling you.
Now that they’ve finally escaped the prairies, I can see Rah Rah making some solid headway. Follow up the links for more, and if you’re in the UK, keep an eye out for “Breaking Heats” dropping next month…" (Lost: listenbeforeyoubuy.net)
I have an excuse, anyway. They’re from Saskatchewan – Regina, specifically. Last time I checked (which was about five minutes before writing this), Saskatchewan was three times the size of the UK, and had a third of the population. I’m guessing news there does not travel especially fast.
When Rah Rah first formed in 2005 it was as a three-piece, but they’ve since more than doubled in size. Unsurprisingly, Erin and Joel Passmore, Kristina Hedlen, Vanessa Benson, Dan Crozier, Marshall Burns and Leif Thorseth manage to cover a fair range of instruments between them: from the standard back-line of guitar, bass and drums to more folky influences like fiddle and accordion. Also, there’s lots of boy-girl interplay on the vocals. All of this makes them sound a little like this other Canadian band you might have heard of, called Arcade Fire (come on, it’s been at least a month since I mentioned them), but if you’re thinking the two might sound similar, think again. On the contrary, they sound much more like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
I’m a big fan of Canadian music. There’s a core of groups over there who have a real knack for making what can only be described as pop without sacrificing their respective Pitchfork Quotients (that’s a technical term) – I’m thinking of the likes of Stars, The New Pornographers, to an extent Metric. It’s amongst these groups that Rah Rah find their place. Their sophomore album, “Breaking Hearts” – which gets its UK release on the 14th of November – is a pretty thoroughly upbeat and approachable affair.
At times they have a touch of Regina Spektor baroque (the superb “What About Love?” springs to mind); at other times they have the same dense and driven tone that Lush were peddling a couple of decades ago. Occasionally they slow things down, to mixed results. The fairly sparse “Beaches” didn’t do much for me, but the slow-building album closer “Parkade” is a treat well worthy of Broken Social Scene. Oh, and you can also download it free below, and even watch the OCD-inducing video, because we honestly love nothing more than spoiling you.
Now that they’ve finally escaped the prairies, I can see Rah Rah making some solid headway. Follow up the links for more, and if you’re in the UK, keep an eye out for “Breaking Heats” dropping next month…" (Lost: listenbeforeyoubuy.net)
