Ra Ra Riot first met seven years ago in January 2006, while playing at houses and venues around the Syracuse University campus. They recorded a demo in February 2006. The band started to attract attention due to their energetic live shows, enough to gain an appearance at the CMJ Music Marathon, fewer than six months after their formation. Following this appearance, their live show received the first of several favorable reviews from SPIN.com, who called them "one of the best young bands we've heard in a really long time" Over the course of their seven-year career, Ra Ra Riot have, for better or worse, been known as the indie band with orchestral strings. maybe best suited to soundtracking the kind of gathering where a guy traps you in a corner and talks about the novel he's working on--not riotous at all. Cellist Alexandra Lawn left the lineup a year ago, cutting down the group’s string section to a single person. That might seem like a minor change, but it’s had a significant affect on the band. The symphonic interludes are out; synthesizers, computerized sound effects and drum machines are in.

“Beta Love” is a pop record, in other words, with candied hooks and nightclub-worthy percussions. This is the sound of a band tearing down its own foundation and building something with newer, shinier materials. It’s evolution at warp speed. “Beta Love” sounds like nothing else in the Ra Ra Riot catalog, but for those willing to forgive the band’s abrupt transformation, this is one interesting reboot.

Artist: Ra Ra Riot

Album: Beta Love

Genre: Indie Rock

Format: MP3