Hurray for the Riff Raff’s front woman Alyssa Segarra doesn’t just sing folk-blues, she embodies it. At 17 years old, she ran from home, hopped from freight train to freight train and traveled North America. Her voice is rooted in the south and rich with its history. New Orleans isn’t just where she grew up; it’s a part of her and a central theme of Hurray for the Riff Raff’s latest record, Small Town Heroes.
While their last full-length original album, Look Out Mama, centers on the importance of individuality and features a more poppy sound with psychedelic accents, Small Town Heroes surges with folk tradition and focuses on lamented love, politics and the South. Small Town Heroes is the band’s first major album debut with all songs either written or co-written by Segarra. Each song rings with her deep appreciation for the world and are often themed on her life experiences. The first track, “Blue Ridge Mountain,” echoes, “My heart is a Blue Ridge mountain and my heart’s an overflowing fountain,” and introduces listeners to the soulful strings, banjo and Southern blues that reverberate throughout the album.
The following track, “Crash on the Highway,” is a slow ballad full of nostalgia for New Orleans. Segarra sings with such truth and meaning that even though I’ve never been there, I felt a connection to it and could feel how much it means to her. The most standout track, however, has to be “The Body Electric,” the record’s defining political anthem. Segarra intones, “What’s a man with a rifle in his hand gonna do for a world that’s so sick and sad?” It’s a protest song referencing Walt Whitman’s “I Sing the Body Electric” that speaks of coping with adversity in the face of an apathetic world. Segarra conjures images of gun violence in Southern Louisiana and asserts the importance of all voices.
Overall, Small Town Heroes is a heartfelt listen that paints a vibrant picture of New Orleans, all the while challenging conventions of society. Though she grew up in a broken home and spent the majority of her upper teens traveling the country by freight train, Segarra has made some beautiful, soulful music and is a clear representation of the fact that not all those who wander are lost.
Rating: B+
