Hurray For The Riff Raff – The Navigator (ATO)

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After 4 albums crafting a unique path through a folk rock tradition that is sometimes weighed down by its relationship to its own past, Hurray For The Riff Raff have hooked up with producer Paul Butler (Who did such a great job with Michael Kiwanuka’s last album) and produced a “concept album”. Now before you start breathing quickly into a paper bag and repeating Hail Marys, the concept is less Rick Wakeman Journey To The Centre Of The Earth and more Bon Iver For Emma Forever Ago. A collection of songs that serve both as a mouthpiece and a narrative for a character on a journey.

In this case, the character of  The Navigator, a/k/a Navita Milagros Negrón, is a girl who grows up in a city “that’s like New York” , and leads a rootless, restless street kid existence, until one day she decides that she wants to connect with her ancestors.

The links between the artistic story and the personal history of vocalist and chief songwriter Alynda Segarra (who was a 17-year-old Bronx-born Puerto Rican runaway) are obvious but after a couple of listens largely irrelevant as it is the musical performances that will bring you back to the album. Remember that concept? A collection of songs that fit together to produce a larger artwork that ideally should be listened to in one sitting?  Randomly streamed or played as background music in a supermarket/cafe/mall pretty much kills the concept so don’t do it .

Sitting in a comfortable chair and free from distraction, our journey starts with Entrance which ushers in a gospel acapella refrain of “One for the Navigator .. Oh My Lord”  with the sounds of a subway station as accompaniment. Eleven tracks later Finale uses the sound of Puerto Rican drums to similar effect but instead delivers the same phrase in Spanish and English. Two languages living happily together in a song side by side.

Along the way, we travel through musical territory previously covered by the band (Halfway There, Life To Save), stop into 70’s Rodriguez (Nothing’s Gonna Change That Girl) pass 10,000 Maniacs, Patti Smith, the sunnier side of the Velvet Underground, Mink Deville, and more. What is satisfying though is how it all flows seamlessly into something unique. Once you are on this train you don’t want to get off. The light sashaying rhythms and heartbreak sit side by side sometimes within the same song. Spanish phrases pepper spaces and lyrics until we reach the heart of the album, the title track. And what a song.

The Navigator sways gently moving its way into your ears like a mysterious stranger who is whispering words to you from the next seat.  It’s cry of “Where did my people go? The Navigator wants to know” focuses your attention and makes you lean in a little closer to learn more.

The melancholic Nothing’s Gonna Change That Girl is pure Nick Drake in it’s combination of acoustic guitars and strings. It encourages you to luxuriate in its intimacy swelling up and down like a boat on the gentle ocean current. But just in case you get too relaxed and think life is all bright colours and dancing, the next song Rican Beach shows the dirty politics that lie below the surface of many of these songs. A Cuban drum pattern propels a song that decries the plight of a people that are naturalised citizens of the U.S.A. but do not have a vote in Congress.

Some songs are universal and P’alante is one of those swinging between anger and despair while proclaiming “I just want to prove my worth on earth” and let’s face it who doesn’t want to do that. Musically it would happily sit on a Father John Misty album. Its meaning contained in its definition “forward”. Curtis Mayfield’s cry on Moving on Up comes to mind. Things close with Finale which functions like the Reprise in a musical score, reminding us of the key themes and showing us the journey we have completed.

The Navigator is an accomplished, engaging dialogue that is a great summary of Hurray For The Riff Raff’s many talents and to my mind their best album so far.  Alynda Segarra manages to use her voice in a number of different ways that always keeps me paying attention and the musical cast are fascinating using polyrhythms that make exciting listening. The political bent of the narrative is clear without being overpowering and I think the songwriting concept works perfectly. It’s early days I know but I think this will be in many people’s album of the year lists come December.

Brent Giblin

 

 

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