I know this album has been out for a while but I legally procurred it and I have a job so get off my back.
Wikipedia defines a Rhumb Line as:
In navigation, a rhumb line (or loxodrome) is a line crossing all meridians at the same angle, i.e. a path of constant bearing. Unlike a great circle route (for which bearing is not constant), following a rhumb line requires turning the vehicle more and more sharply while approaching the poles. At lower latitudes, however, a loxodrome may be easier to follow than a great circle. The effect of following a rhumb line course on the surface of a globe was first discussed by the Portuguese mathematician Pedro Nunes in the 1530s, with further mathematical development by Thomas Harriot in the 1590s.
Ok, now that I have my junior high opening to the essay (or review for our purposes) we will move on to the substance of the album because I don't know what the $#*@ a Rhumb Line is after reading the definition over and over.
Ra Ra Riot's The Rhumb Line is the kind of album that I never thought I would like. After the first couple listens of the album my initial impression was that these guys were trying to be Vampire Weekend. If you are unfamiliar with my opinion of Vampire Weekend it can basically be summed up as music that is trying too hard. In fact, the first words I came across regarding Ra Ra Riot was in a forum in which some poster wrote, "They (Ra Ra Riot) are like Vampire Weekend but boring." It was with this quote I knew I was going to love these guys and decided to give the album a couple more spins before prematurely retiring it. I'm glad as "boring" to me has equated to sincere and good music. Now I have to admit that when I listen to this album I still picture northeastern preps/hipsters but I like these yanks much better than those previously mentioned. I'm going to go get my turtleneck out of the mothballs and give this album another go... -(7.5/10)
Ra Ra Riot's The Rhumb Line is the kind of album that I never thought I would like. After the first couple listens of the album my initial impression was that these guys were trying to be Vampire Weekend. If you are unfamiliar with my opinion of Vampire Weekend it can basically be summed up as music that is trying too hard. In fact, the first words I came across regarding Ra Ra Riot was in a forum in which some poster wrote, "They (Ra Ra Riot) are like Vampire Weekend but boring." It was with this quote I knew I was going to love these guys and decided to give the album a couple more spins before prematurely retiring it. I'm glad as "boring" to me has equated to sincere and good music. Now I have to admit that when I listen to this album I still picture northeastern preps/hipsters but I like these yanks much better than those previously mentioned. I'm going to go get my turtleneck out of the mothballs and give this album another go... -(7.5/10)
Ra Ra Riot - "Each Year"
Ra Ra Riot - "Too Too Fast"
Ra Ra Riot - "Can You Tell"
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2 comments:
Check out my interview with Mathieu Santos of Ra Ra Riot at captainmelody.blogspot.com. Let me know if you want to link up
I just did a best of for 2008 (yeah I know - late) and put the Rhumb Line at the top for last year. Vampire Weekend's was up high, but Ra Ra Riot's cd was more substantial, meatier, whereas VWs was more along for the fun of it. Nice blog - adding it to my list.
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