Hurray for the Riff Raff convincingly beckons to a larger audience ★★★★☆

They’ve been making records for fifteen years and each new album received a little more attention than the last, but the indie folk of Hurray for the Riff Raff (from New Orleans, but with New York’s Alynda Segarra as the fiery figurehead) seemed ready to break through to a wide pop audience. ) a bit too much ‘niche’.

Five years after on The Navigator playfully exploring Segarra’s Puerto Rican-New York roots, the group’s eighth album does Life on Earth (about the planet and the people who live on it) nevertheless a surprising and convincing shot at that wider audience.

Musically the album shoots in many directions, from synthesizer pop (wolves) and veiled punk (Rhodondendron) to a kind of trip hop with rap (Precious Cargo) and, in the middle, a long ballad (het title piece) about the destruction of our planet: ‘No, I might not meet you there/ leaving it beyond repair.’

Across the board, Segarra sings with a form of authority that sometimes, curiously enough, is reminiscent of The War on Drugs or even Bruce Springsteen, on an album that captivates with its thematics, grandiose sound and musical diversity.

Hurray for the Riff Raff thus transcends the niche, can henceforth be called ‘pop’ and goes with Life on Earth make lots of new friends.