This world of ours is wonderful, but it’s also dreadful, and Alynda Segarra has more than a few choice words about this subject. Segarra is the main vocalist of the folk band Hurray for the Riff Raff, which recently released their eighth studio album 

Segarra shows us how folk can be just as mutable as any other genre. 

is a savory blend of American folk, with undernotes of soft punk rock all tied together with an emphasis on natural beauty. However, it’s not merely about environments and landscapes. They’re not describing these places, they’re feeling these places — the jagged gravel, the chorus of a mourning dove — and you will feel it too.

Segarra fell in love with the ideals of nature at a young age. At 17, they left their home in the Bronx and ended up landing in New Orleans to start Hurry for the Riff Raff after years of busking the corners of America. On their journey through the country, they hopped freight trains, trekked on gravel roads, and slept under the blanket of the night sky. All of this adventuring and roaming around led to a major appreciation for their environment. Every blade of grass, rolling hill, and sprawling tree is a reminder of Earth’s greatness to them.

The instrumentals are soft, yet punching; each horn toot and cymbal crash seems to have a chaotic order, taking after Mother Nature herself. They seem to hug each lyric, making sure there is no wiggle room. Upon my first listen, I could immediately tell you what each song was going to be about. Even if the lyrics were completely removed, the production would do a crystal clear job at portraying the tone of each song.

While the instrumentals are the heartbeat of this album, the lyrics are the lifeblood. 

is jam-packed full of playful details describing the world around us. In “RHODODENDRON,” they tell a tale of waking up reborn in a field of corn, with the moon shining a glossy maple glow. All of the beautiful things the earth has to offer are harvested into her sound. Her voice is reminiscent of signature Americana country-western tone, which oddly compliments her modern and passionate political messages.

Segarra and their band discuss the ugly parts of nature too, specifically human nature. Opening with the track “WOLVES,” Segarra gravely tells the listener an ominous message: “the wolves are here.” This is the introduction to an overarching theme of the immigrant experience and border detention. It’s your choice: follow them or get eaten by the wolves. So, Segarra invites us on a nomadic journey with her through the mountains and valleys of the album. 

They are bringing heart and soul to the forefront of this album, something Segarra wishes she saw in more folk artists. Instead of the usual “Life is short, have fun” mantra, Segarra groans “Life on earth is long,” a simple yet impactful lyric coming from “a girl in a cage” on the titular track. The music of Hurray for the Riff Raff is reminiscent of campfire ballads, detailing the tough love the earth deals to everyone who walks it. They believe that, considering how personal and heartfelt folk music is, it needs to expand its boundaries and relate to broader issues as well as personal ones.

Throughout the album, Segarra incorporates the trials and tribulations of immigration into the United States in songs like “PRECIOUS CARGO.” A laid-back instrumental lets the lyrics drive this track. In a striking criticism of border patrol, the lyrics voice, “And I don’t know why you would lie on me / The man from the I.C.E.” The messaging is impactful in showing the profanity of the situation, while also showing the resilience of those mistreated at the hands of ICE.

Throughout this album, Segarra and their band Hurray for the Riff Raff use their signature folk-y stylings to create a refreshing take on the Americana genre. Segarra wants to show the world the ugly with the pretty, the thorn with every rose, and they do it beautifully.

"LIFE ON EARTH" is Hurray For The Riff Raff’s beautiful tapestry

Arca, Venezuelan electronic artist and dominator of all things experimental, has recently delivered four new albums to her 

 series. This five-part sequence is Arca’s expression of her identity as a trans-femme queer woman, her philosophies on art, and her love of pushing experimental boundaries. These albums were released back-to-back from November 30 to December 3, a year and a half after releasing the first installment in June 2020.

Each album creates a new reality, or planet in the 

 universe, that the listener is thrust into. This wide variety means there is something for everyone in Arca’s musically expansive audience, from Latin dance-pop to ambient experimental sounds. While there is a lot of diversity in these rapid-fire album releases, each track is distinctly hers, with harsh metallic clangs and entrancing instrumentals.

 is the first album released among the quartet and is the definitive Latin/reggaeton-inspired album of the bunch. Arca was born and partially raised in Venezuela, and incorporates her roots into this mainly Spanish spoken start to the releases. To start the album is “Doña,” with crunchy, hair-raising instrumentals adorning her heavily autotuned voice. It’s a perfect introduction to Arca’s album ripe with deviations of both Latin dance and her usual electronic flare.

The tracks conjure a vision of a futuristic party in space where Arca is the eternal DJ who transcends language. If Arca was jockeying “Tiro” or “Rakata” at the tower of Babylon, everyone would understand the irresistible rhythms and scorching beats. It’s refreshing and exciting to hear a fully realized work of Arca’s that is in touch with her Venezuelan heritage. In the past, she has incorporated it in her works, but here, it is put on full display.

Arca is known for having a challenging sound, but here, she eases the listener into a world of chaotic noise. After getting a taste of the metallic beats that infiltrate a dance-pop barrier, it’s hard to get it out of your head. While the use of various noises can seem random, it all mixed together to make some truly catchy club songs.

If you want to get into Arca, I would recommend bumping “Prada” or “Born Yesterday,” a rework of a Sia track, to get a glimpse into Arca’s mind of music.


. This is her silliest and most playful album – a whimsical, explosive, and fiery compilation of her unrelinquished productional powers, and she holds nothing back.

This album has already been praised as her best work of the series, due to its intense nature: less is not more, more is more! Arca pushes the boundaries and stretches them hair-thin, introducing sounds of electronic churning and distorting chiming. Much like a roller coaster, this album has the listener strapped in tightly, with twists and loops that will make you left dizzy with excitement after finishing it.

The lyrics do not disappoint either. Starting off with a bang, the first song “Bruja” begins with the warped voice of Arca screaming “OOOOH SHIT, ARRRCCAAA,” setting a stimulating tone for the entire album. Arca goes on to sing about her new psychological complexes, Electra Rex – it’s out with Freud, in with Arca – and her exploration of her sexuality.

The overall tone is self-realized; the listener can join in on the fun Arca is offering and have a great time listening to it, even if some of the sounds are off-putting. Overall, this album is a compelling work of musical tinkering, letting us all know Arca isn’t going anywhere.


, a harder-to-define work in the cycle. This album is purely electronic and experimental, with different tones and styles in each song. The one thing wrapping the entire album together is the theme of queerness. From “Xenomorphgirl” to “Alien Inside,” she details the aches and triumphs of what it means to her to be queer – there’s even a track titled “Queer.”

The album has some of the same elements from the previous 

 like heavily edited instrumentals and distorted singing. However, the tone is more spacey and strung out, where, in some songs, there is less of a linear bass line, leaving the sound more ambient in nature. Some very zany high-pitched noises and some rock elements are in the mix as well. The track “Boquifloja” uses an indie rock style guitar riff with overstretched and wispy vocals, which was surprisingly enjoyable.

While there is new terrain covered with this album, it’s probably the most difficult to get into. While the meaning of these tracks is expressed, they are delivered with such complexity that it’s tricky to grasp a hold of what’s really going on with this album. It’s still an interesting listen, but definitely highly experimental, which is what Arca’s all about. In an 

 with New York Times, she explained how she’d rather put out music that she enjoyed and push the envelope, rather than appease the masses.


All good things must come to an end, and Arca makes sure the closer to her 

 is Arca’s take on melodramatic modern classical music. It’s a somber and emotional send-off, decorated with piano keys and computer-y beeps alike.

After being hit with the high energy of the first two releases and the comedown from the third, this album lets the listener breathe and take in Arca’s softer side. The sound is more refined and stripped back. Arca samples her own sound from past works, like her synth line from “Mequetrefe” on 

 along with her dazzling piano skills to make some very emotional tracks.

Arca delivers on instrumentals, but an underrated factor of her musical arsenal is her voice. Her vocals on this album are a contrast of ghostly and bittersweet, making the listener experience Arca’s perceived sadness with having to part with the “kick.” The emotional opera resembles mourning songs for the 

 universe as it drifts further and further away into space and time.

Arca ends the entire cycle with the finale “Crown.” It’s a piece with all of the essentials: a distorted operatic voice, squelching clanks, and a biting piano. Arca explains the story of herself as a human being in these albums – her joy, her pain, her lust, and her dysmorphia – and leaves us with a final line: “She wears her crown.”


Arca completes her "Kick" world with a bang

Double Double Whammy · November 19, 2021


It’s always a fun process to find new music from acts that are flying under the radar. A record label by the name of Double Double Whammy just released a compilation with all of their signed artists for their ten-year anniversary. Hailing from SUNY Purchase, a liberal arts college in New York, Double Double Whammy is an independent group with some very obscure acts.


This compilation features artists all across the relevance scale, some with popular Tik-Tok sounds and sold-out tours, and some with less than 500 monthly listeners on Spotify. Popularity, however, is never a good measure for music quality. I discovered some very new artists (to me, at least). Some songs like “Gum in Hair” by The Glow and “No Backpack” by Gemma were fun ditties that would probably suit a relaxing study session. Other than that, after listening to the first two tracks of the album, I became very accustomed to this label’s style.


One of the bands, LVL UP, decided to start their own label in 2011 after the release of their debut album “Space Brothers.” This piece of work set up the indie rock style that the future of the label would pick up. The interesting thing about all of the acts is that they are all peers or mutuals with the band members in the greater NYC area. Pitchfork described LVL UP as “hav[ing a] compiled body of peers who also excel at homespun guitar-gaze grandeur”.


The label has some very “true-to-the-brand indie” artists that will definitely wiggle their way onto Spotify playlists showcasing indie acts. Their sound is very palatable to anyone wanting to scratch that indie itch in their ear. The music on this record has the perfect mixture of a major indie feel with minor touches of pop or rock.


The compilation has a definite flavor of spiky guitar riffs and laid-back vocals, with some hints of pop sprinkled in for good measure. From what I picked up, each song on this album was each artist’s essence in just one song made for this album. It’s easy to recognize these as indie artists upon first listening. Each of the artists has their distinct opening guitar strums and the muffled voices of these songs are very familiar.


Even if the music is predictable, it’s always a nice touch to hear the translucent nature of each artist on this record. Each artist is their own musician, vocalist, and producer, putting their skills on full display. This is refreshing, considering that many popular artists today have extensive production teams.

While it’s hard to pinpoint the origin of guitar-clad indie ballads, this band and its associate acts under it were definitely there before its recent popularity. To their credit, they have produced some cult favorites like Frankie Cosmos, Lomelda, and even Mitski — until 2014. Mitski was probably their most unique sounding act, and signed under them because of their common trait of being SUNY graduates. However, she was not featured on this compilation.


Overall, this compilation is something I wouldn’t listen to over and over, but it would be something to keep in your Spotify library in case you want to listen to something different on your regularly scheduled walk or car ride. I’d recommend this compilation to anyone wanting to add more indie artists into their music portfolio.


Double Double Whammy’s 10th anniversary compilation is a refreshing collection of classic indie

In the U.S., when one mentions a current female R&B singer, some names that come to mind are SZA, Summer Walker, or Ella Mai. However, don’t count out RAY BLK next time you think of the genre. Four years after winning the BBC’s Sound Of 2017, this London-based R&B singer recently released her long-awaited debut full-length album 

 with a whopping 15 tracks and nuanced style to keep you coming back for more.

When first working on the LP, she felt as if she needed to fit a certain mold to maximize streams and airplay. “I felt like I was being a little bit fake or trying to strategize everything,” said RAY BLK in an 

 with R&B Rated. After this revelation, she completely scrapped the LP and reworked it to sound the way she genuinely wanted her work to be heard. And it paid off.

This album bleeds both resilience and confidence. The listener will know all about RAY BLK once the album is finished. The beginning track is a strong opener to this album. Blaring through the speakers, “BLK MADONNA” is a declaration of RAY BLK’s ambition as an up-and-coming artist and her yearning to be the next (black) Madonna.

As each track opens and closes, the listener is invited into the story weaved by RAY BLK’s smart hooks and careful rhythmic flow. In the title track, “Access Denied,” she explains her reasoning for paying her exes no mind, “You seeing me less, because I’m doing more,” she scoffs at the men that have hurt her. Then, in “25,” she takes on the pain of growing up fast in the music industry. There’s “so much to do, too much to prove / But I’m only 25, too young to feel this tired.” RAY BLK touches on many topics in this album, making each track relatable in some way.

Along with heartbreak and ambition, RAY BLK expresses her experience as a Nigerian immigrant living in London, a perspective that few people in the US know much about. In the song “Dark Skinned,” RAY BLK sings about her experience with not only racism but colorism. Growing up she had to learn to love herself, and she celebrates that realization on this track. “We talked about colorism, and I just hated that all of the discussion felt so negative,” said RAY BLK in her interview with R&B Rated.

While her lyrics tell a story, the rhythm is the backdrop. Each track is sonically unique, tethering the lyrics and beat together to get her messages across. RAY BLK uses the current style of R&B that most people are familiar with, and incorporates it with her Nigerian heritage. RAY BLK’s beats sound unique as one traverses from song to song, differing in pace and tempo. One minute it’s the trap beat-laced heartbreak ballad “Baggage,” and the next it’s the Afro-pop track “Over You.”

RAY BLK does an excellent job of mixing fun and seriousness together. This balance makes listening not too heavy on the mind, but also makes the listener think and appreciate where she comes from.

Her catchiest song “MIA” adds to the irreverent side of this balance. Compared to her other songs, the premise is a bit basic. She’s telling a story of going literally missing in action with her new lover. However, she tells it in a way that makes you want to belt along and go off alone with a newfound love interest.

Overall, the album is very listenable and relatable, evoking a head-bobbing motion through each song. While this may be your first time hearing of RAY BLK’s existence as a dynamic R&B artist, it should not and will not be the last.


Tommy Paulus