''The Rhumb Line'' is the debut LP for the

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

-based

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band Ra Ra Riot. Recorded in late 2007 with Ryan Hadlock in Woodinville, WA, the band released their debut album on August 19, 2008, through

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

-based indie label

Barsuk Records Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, in 1998 to release their band's material. Its logo is a draw ...

.Dave Maher
"Ra Ra Riot Sign to Barsuk, Reveal Debut Album"
''Pitchfork Media'', June 6, 2008. The album peaked at #109 on the ''Billboard'' 200. This album was ranked as the 38th best album of 2008 by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''.

Songs

The track listing includes the Kate Bush cover "

Suspended in Gaffa "Suspended in Gaffa" is a song recorded by English art rock singer Kate Bush. It was the fourth single release from her album ''The Dreaming''. "Suspended in Gaffa" was released as a single in continental Europe and Australia, but not in the UK. ...

". Other songs, "Ghost Under Rocks", "Each Year", "

Dying Is Fine "Dying Is Fine" was one of the first songs written by Ra Ra Riot. It was released several times, and was reworked for their first full album, ''The Rhumb Line'', in 2008. The song was inspired by the E. E. Cummings poem, ''dying is fine)but death ...

", and "Can You Tell", previously appeared on the band's 2007 self-titled EP. Also, during a

WOXY.com WOXY.com was a modern rock internet radio station based in Oxford, Ohio, and later Austin, Texas. WOXY.com relied mainly on its own website to reach its listeners. WOXY.com programming at one time was also available at lala.com and WVXU HD Ra ...

''Lounge Act'' session (January 30, 2008), the band showcased "Too Too Too Fast", "Oh, La", and "Run My Mouth". Several of the songs contained in the album are literary references such as "Each Year" which appears to be written about

Harper Lee Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926February 19, 2016) was an American novelist best known for her 1960 novel ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. It won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and has become a classic of modern American literature. Lee has received numero ...

's ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

'' and "Dying Is Fine" using the poem by

E.E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

. "St. Peter's Day Festival" commemorates the loss of bandmate John Pike, who went missing in June 2007 but was later found dead in

Buzzard's Bay Buzzards Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is approximately 28 miles (45 kilometers) long by 8 miles (12 kilometers) wide. It is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and tourism. Since 1 ...

. The album was named after The Rhumb Line, a bar in

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a ...

that is referenced in the lyrics of "St. Peter's Day Festival".

Track listing

All tracks written by Ra Ra Riot (Wes Miles, Mathieu Santos, Milo Bonacci, Alexandra Lawn, Rebecca Zeller), except where noted. # "Ghost Under Rocks" (John Pike, Ra Ra Riot) – 4:26 # "Each Year" (John Pike, Ra Ra Riot) – 3:16 # "St. Peter's Day Festival" (John Pike, Wes Miles) – 3:34 # "Winter '05" – 2:57 # "

" (John Pike, Wes Miles,

e. e. cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

) – 3:52 # "Can You Tell" – 2:42 # "Too Too Too Fast" (John Pike, Ra Ra Riot) – 3:46 # "Oh, La" – 4:42 # "

" ( Kate Bush) – 3:48 # "Run My Mouth" – 3:58.

Videos

* : Directed by Albert Birney, Nicholas Gurewitch, and Jon Moses. * "Ghost Under Rocks": Directed by

Brian Savelson Brian Savelson is an American writer, director, and producer who works in film, theater, and television. Savelson has written for numerous TV series including Amazon's The New Yorker Presents, Fox's Next, and Apple's Little America for which he ...

. * "Can You Tell": Directed by Taryn Gould and Emily Kowalczyk.

Personnel

* Wes Miles – vocals, keyboards * Mathieu Santos – bass guitar * Milo Bonacci – guitar * Rebecca Zeller – violin * Alexandra Lawn – cello * Cameron Wisch – drums

References

External links

Official websiteMySpace websiteBarsuk RecordsDaytrotter SessionWOXY.com Lounge Act Session
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhumb Line, The Ra Ra Riot albums 2008 albums Albums recorded at Bear Creek Studio