Hurray For The Riff Raff – “Pa’lante”

2017 is barely three months old — too soon for a “best album of the year” status report? Because I’m thinking The Navigator by Hurray For The Riff Raff is the year’s first serious contender. Bandleader Alynda Segarra has steered this New Orleans-based ensemble for over eight years through a wide-ranging folk-rock sound enlivened by a distinct Latin flavor. The band’s sixth album takes a major step forward, with tracks like “Hungry Ghost” making a confident play for rock audiences.

But it’s the more reflective numbers where Hurray For The Riff Raff shine brightest, achieving a cinematic scope that stays with the listener. Case in point is “Pa’lante,” which refracts her adolescent experience feeling like an outsider to her urban Nuyorican community through the struggles of the Young Lords Party and other Puerto Rican anti-colonial movements. Never mind that songs like this establish Segarra as an intersectional icon for a new generation — music this yearning and resonant can move anyone whose heart isn’t made of stone.

This week Hurray For The Riff Raff takes The Navigator on the road for more than three months of North American dates. Set a course for one of these dates!

The Navigator is out now on ATO Records.

HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF ON TOUR:
April 15 – Middlebury College @ Middlebury, VT
April 16 – Academy of Music Theatre @ Northampton, MA
April 18 – The Sinclair @ Cambridge, MA
April 19 – The Sinclair @ Cambridge, MA
April 20 – Bowery Ballroom @ New York, NY
April 21 – World Cafe Live @ Philadelphia, PA
April 22 – The Sound Garden (RSD in-store) @ Baltimore, MD
April 23 – 9:30 Club @ Washington, DC
April 24 – Woodward Theater @ Cincinnati, OH
April 25 – Beachland Ballroom @ Cleveland, OH”
April 27 – The Magic Bag @ Ferndale, MI
April 28 – Thalia Hall @ Chicago, IL
April 29 – High Noon Saloon @ Madison, WI
April 30 – Fine Line Music Cafe @ Minneapolis, MN
May 2 – Old Rock House @ St. Louis, MO
May 3 – Mercy Lounge @ Nashville, TN
May 4 – Saturn @ Birmingham, AL
May 5 – Civic Theatre @ New Orleans, LA
May 21 – Hang Out Fest @ Gulf Shores, AL
June 2 – Trees @ Dallas, TX
June 3 – Free Press Summer Fest @ Houston, TX
June 4 – The Mohawk @ Austin, TX
June 6 – Meow Wolf @ Santa Fe, NM
June 7 – The Crescent Ballroom @ Phoenix, AZ
June 9 – Teragram Ballroom @ Los Angeles, CA
June 10 – Rio Theater @ Santa Cruz, CA
June 11 – The Fillmore @ San Francisco, CA
June 13 – Revolution Hall @ Portland, OR
June 15 – Imperial @ Vancouver, BC
June 16 – The Crocodile @ Seattle, WA
June 18 – The Olympic Venue @ Boise, ID
June 19 – Urban Lounge @ Salt Lake City, UT
June 20 – Crazy Mountain Brewery’s Hot Summer Nights @ Vail, CO
June 21 – The Bluebird Theater @ Denver, CO
June 22 – Millennium Park @ Chicago, IL
July 31 – Mr. Small’s Theatre @ Millvale, PA
August 1 – The Great Hall @ Toronto, ON