Hurray For the Riff Raff is led by 23 year old Alynda Lee Segarra, a writer who shows maturity far beyond her tender years. The band trades in accordion, banjo and acoustic guitar led folk, rarely raising tempos above a laid back crawl. Lyrical concerns include love, loss and drugs like all the best folk.
At their best on tracks such as ‘Daniella’ or ‘Little Things’, the band hit the sort of form that their press hyperbole hints at. However, during their more generic tracks (‘I Know you’ in particular), this listener found his attention wandering elsewhere.
Considering that this eponymous release is a compilation of the best bits of the first two albums, it is clear that the band isn’t at a world beating level just yet. However there is something timelessly haunting in the some of the arrangements and fragments of lyrics that suggest this band are capable of hauling themselves up by the boot straps and challenging. Ultimately, with songs as delicate as those showcased here, the standard needs to be consistently amazing to captivate the listener. Here’s hoping that Segarra’s songs are able to hit the heights on the bands next full length release.
Hurray for the Riff Raff - Bricks from benjamin & stefan ramirez perez on Vimeo.
