Ra Ra Riot Releases WAR & FAMINE, Intensely Personal Track Off SUPERBLOOM
By: Tori Hartshorn Jul. 12, 2019
Ra Ra Riot has released "War & Famine" today, another new cut from their forthcoming studio LP Superbloom - due out August 9th on Rob the Rich Recordings/Caroline. The song comes as the band is in the midst of the Summer Gods Tour, supporting Third Eye Blind and Jimmy Eat World across the US, and follows the recent announcement of Ra Ra Riot's UK/EU headline tour this winter. "War & Famine" joins previously released album tracks "Bad to Worse" - a Rostom Batmanglij (Vampire Weekend, HAIM) collaboration that is currently making waves at Alternative Radio - "This Time of Year," and "Flowers." When discussing the new song, singer/songwriter Wes Mileshad the following to say:
This is probably the most personal track on the record for me. One of the only times I've ever tracked and comped vocals totally alone in my apartment without anyone else to filter through. That allowed me to be really free and let things go that I may have felt too vulnerable about otherwise. I've usually steered clear of "political" lyrics because it's just not the music that I thought I was best at making, but this idea of generational entitlement was something I kept hearing about at the time but sounded completely ridiculous to me (cue Principal Skinner, "No, it's the children who are wrong!") and just came up naturally.
The other really cool thing about this song is that it came from listening to a demo of another track on the record backwards just for fun. I won't say which one because it's not out yet but it'll probably be pretty easy to tell once you do hear the record.Listen here:
With only a handful of tracks released from the stellar forthcoming album, press outlets have already taken notice of Superbloom, with Pitchfork, Billboard, Stereogum, SPIN, Paste, andUnder the Radar all joining in on the excitement. FLOOD Magazine stated "Miles delivers a particularly affecting vocal performance," and KCRW noted that "Bad to Worse" amplifies the band's "pop-minded approach with bountiful arrangements." While shedding their past inhibitions on Superbloom, Ra Ra Riot manages to maintain the offbeat and impressive eclecticism they've become known for, embracing new elements and embedding the album's expansive compositions with touches of psychedelia, new wave, punk and country.
Summer Gods Tour w/ Third Eye Blind & Jimmy Eat World
July 12 @ Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton, PA
July 13 @ PNC Bank Arts Theater in Holmdel, NJ
July 14 @ BB&T Pavilion in Camden, NJ
July 16 @ Express Live! Pavilion in Columbus, OH
July 17 @ PNC Pavilion in Cincinnati, OH
July 19 @ Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD
July 20 @ Stage AE Outdoors in Pittsburgh, PA
July 21 @ PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, NC
July 22 @ State Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park in Charlotte, NC
July 24 @ Ascend Amphitheatre in Nashville, TN
July 25 @ Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers, AR
July 26 @ Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, TX
July 27 @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Houston, TX
July 29 @ Launchpad in Albuquerque, NM**
July 31 @ Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix, AZ
August 1 @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in San Diego, CA
August 2 @ The Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino in Las Vegas, NV
August 3 @ FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA
Dec 2 @ Paradiso in Amsterdam, NL
Dec 3 @ Häkken in Hamburg, DE
Dec 4 @ Musik und Frieden in Berlin, DE
Dec 5 @ Zehner in Munich, DE
Dec 7 @ Helios in Cologne, DE
Dec 8 @ Exil in Zurich, CH
Dec 10 @ Thekla in Briston, UK
Dec 11 @ King Tuts in Glasgow, UK
Dec 12 @ The Deaf Institute in Manchester, UK
Dec 13 @ Oslo in London, UK
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