Rah Rah

Rah Rah, A seven-piece indie band from Regina, Saskatchewan, released their sophomore album Breaking Hearts in June of 2010. The band first gained notice in 2008 with their debut album, Going Steady, a combination of quirky indie rock guitar driven duets reminiscent of Immaculate Machine and The New Pornographers. Produced by Plants and Animals' Kees Dekker, Breaking Hearts delivers a mix of catchy upbeat numbers and melodic ballads that establish the band as a prominent player on the Canadian indie music scene.

“Arrow” kicks of Breaking Hearts with catchy guitar driven riffs and chanting choruses, drawing the listener in from the first track. It's buzzing guitar driven tracks like this, “Henry” and “Hurt You Bad” that seem like a progressive continuation of Going Steady. Yet what marks Rah Rah’s departure from their debut is the album’s ballads in which clean guitar, piano and synth are accompanied by vocal clarity to achieve an emotional crescendo. Themes of love, loss and change ring clear on tracks like “Ghosts” with lyrics such as “I once held you close in that bedroom full of ghosts - Pressing sobbing shuttered eyes, trembling legs and loosened thighs”.

Despite the album’s newfound sophistication, Rah Rah’s quirky nature still shines through on tracks such as “Communist Man”, a ditty about a love affair with a commie, or “Joey,” a ballad about a fictional narrative surrounding Joey Ramone. While nothing may scream as loud as tracks such as “Fuck Nafta”, Breaking Hearts seems less a cry for attention and more a selection of carefully crafted intertwined melodies and harmonies.

Around the last third of the album, the songs begin to drag. “What About Love” is sung in a vulnerable, almost whiny voice and the moaning choruses begin to sound grating. “Lightning” and “Waltz” are pleasant to the ear but lack the lustre and catchiness of the earlier tracks on the album. Yet the album manages to bring it back with the title track, a rock anthem sung by numerous band members with soaring choruses that claim “I’m still in love with you.” With an album that infuses old soul with modern themes, gripping ballads  with upbeat numbers, and the familiarity of Going Steady with progressive new material, Breaking Hearts ensures we are still, most definitely, in love with Rah Rah.

-Emma Wolno