Ra Ra Riot have undergone some personnel changes in the last couple years, and although the Syracuse, NY-based band's lineup currently doesn't include a full-time drummer, that isn't stopping them from releasing their third album. Entitled Beta Love, it will be out in Canada through Arts & Crafts on January 22.
The album was recorded with producer Dennis Herring (Elvis Costello, Modest Mouse, Wavves) at Sweet Tea Studios in Oxford, MS. Thematic influences include futurist Ray Kurzweil and cyberpunk author William Gibson. Session drummer Josh Freese (Devo, Nine Inch Nails, Weezer) was behind the kit during the sessions.
Bassist Mathieu Santos said in a statement, "Recording the record was a lot of fun for us, because we were in a completely different environment, trying a completely new approach. We'd been used to arriving at a session with every song totally arranged and figured out, but in Oxford, a lot of the creative decision-making happened in the studio, on the fly. We wanted to be outside of our collective comfort zone for this record. We wanted to be open to new things happening. There was a lot of building up and tearing down, a lot of problem solving, a lot of trial and error, and that was really exciting for us."
See the tracklist below, and scroll past that to see the band's upcoming tour schedule. The 2013 schedule includes Canadian shows in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Next Monday (October 29), Arts & Crafts will begin selling pre-order copies of Beta Love as part of ticket bundles.
Beta Love:
1. Dance with Me
2. Binary Mind
3. Beta Love
4. Is It Too Much
5. For Once
6. Angel, Please
7. What I Do for U
8. When I Dream
9. That Much
10. Wilderness
11. I Shut Off
Tour dates:
11/14 Syracuse, NY - Syracuse University
11/28 Providence, RI - Lupo's
11/29 Philadelphia, PA - Liacouras Center
12/8 Lancaster, PA - Chameleon
12/9 Hartford, CT - Arch Street Tavern
12/11 Clifton Park, NY - Upstate Concert Hall
12/12 Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place
12/13 Ithaca, NY - Haunt
1/23 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
1/25 New York, NY - Webster Hall
1/26 Boston, MA - Paradise
2/7 Vancouver, BC - Venue
2/8 Seattle, WA - Neptune Theater
2/9 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
2/11 San Francisco, CA - Fillmore
2/12 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
2/15 Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up
2/16 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
2/17 El Paso, TX - Lowbrow Palace
2/19 Dallas, TX - Kessler Theater
2/20 Austin, TX - The Belmont
2/21 Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's
2/23 Oxford, MS - Proud Larry's
2/24 Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
2/25 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
2/26 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle
2/28 Columbus, OH - A&R Music Bar
3/1 Chicago, IL - Metro
3/2 Madison, WI - Der Rathskeller
3/3 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock
3/5 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig
3/6 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
3/7 Montreal, QC - Il Motore
3/8 South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
3/9 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
The album was recorded with producer Dennis Herring (Elvis Costello, Modest Mouse, Wavves) at Sweet Tea Studios in Oxford, MS. Thematic influences include futurist Ray Kurzweil and cyberpunk author William Gibson. Session drummer Josh Freese (Devo, Nine Inch Nails, Weezer) was behind the kit during the sessions.
Bassist Mathieu Santos said in a statement, "Recording the record was a lot of fun for us, because we were in a completely different environment, trying a completely new approach. We'd been used to arriving at a session with every song totally arranged and figured out, but in Oxford, a lot of the creative decision-making happened in the studio, on the fly. We wanted to be outside of our collective comfort zone for this record. We wanted to be open to new things happening. There was a lot of building up and tearing down, a lot of problem solving, a lot of trial and error, and that was really exciting for us."
See the tracklist below, and scroll past that to see the band's upcoming tour schedule. The 2013 schedule includes Canadian shows in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Next Monday (October 29), Arts & Crafts will begin selling pre-order copies of Beta Love as part of ticket bundles.
Beta Love:
1. Dance with Me
2. Binary Mind
3. Beta Love
4. Is It Too Much
5. For Once
6. Angel, Please
7. What I Do for U
8. When I Dream
9. That Much
10. Wilderness
11. I Shut Off
Tour dates:
11/14 Syracuse, NY - Syracuse University
11/28 Providence, RI - Lupo's
11/29 Philadelphia, PA - Liacouras Center
12/8 Lancaster, PA - Chameleon
12/9 Hartford, CT - Arch Street Tavern
12/11 Clifton Park, NY - Upstate Concert Hall
12/12 Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place
12/13 Ithaca, NY - Haunt
1/23 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
1/25 New York, NY - Webster Hall
1/26 Boston, MA - Paradise
2/7 Vancouver, BC - Venue
2/8 Seattle, WA - Neptune Theater
2/9 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
2/11 San Francisco, CA - Fillmore
2/12 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
2/15 Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up
2/16 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
2/17 El Paso, TX - Lowbrow Palace
2/19 Dallas, TX - Kessler Theater
2/20 Austin, TX - The Belmont
2/21 Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's
2/23 Oxford, MS - Proud Larry's
2/24 Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
2/25 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
2/26 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle
2/28 Columbus, OH - A&R Music Bar
3/1 Chicago, IL - Metro
3/2 Madison, WI - Der Rathskeller
3/3 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock
3/5 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig
3/6 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
3/7 Montreal, QC - Il Motore
3/8 South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
3/9 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
