Ra Ra Riot; The Antlers @ BAM

Ra Ra Riot; The Antlers
@ BAM
Brooklyn, NY - February 5, 2010

Ra Ra Riot should in theory have a new record coming out soon and one or two of the songs during this set at the Sounds Like Brooklyn Festival at the Howard Gillman Opera House should have been from that new record but the band made no mention of it. It didn't matter as what they played was focused and captivating, and all the songs from The Rhumb Line continue to give this Syracuse band a worthy lease on life.

The Antlers are not like any other band that bridges the gap between distortion no wave and pop music. Rather than meld the two together, they force these two styles to smash against each other and then fall back leaving both parts equally concrete as they stood before. This isn't always effective. Additionally, the serious, nervous band's penchant for flourishing, rising build-ups that then just peter out are a few too many. But it does come together. It certainly came together often on the Hospice record. It really comes together on one magical number called "Two" though there were enough deviations from the recorded version to make you wonder where this band was going to go.