Mattew Froese
LANCE WRITER


Rah Rah – The Poet’s Dead (Hidden Pony)





Rah Rah continues to defy common musical conventions and succeed because of it.

Convention dictates: stick to one sound. The Poet’s Dead is a rock record but features country, folk, electronic and garage. Convention dictates: Have one lead singer. Rah Rah has three. It’s this rule breaking that improves the album. Instead of the disjointed, inconsistent record that genre hopping and instrument switching usually cause, the album is varied and well-paced.

Beyond that, this is an incredibly thematically tight album for a band with so many songwriters and singers. The Poet’s Dead is about growing up and looking back. The songs are brisk and the different voices help break the album up without being so different that they feel out of place. For a band that often is labelled baroque pop, nothing feels unnecessary or forced.

Stand outs include “Prairie Girl” and title track “The Poet’s Dead.” If there were one weakness that could be gleaned from the 10 tracks it would be the ending. “Saint” is a fine song but lacks the conciseness of the rest and it ends the album rather abruptly.

Overall though, listen to Rah Rah and enjoy a band that has matured in just the right way.