Ra Ra Riot Releases New Song "Beta Love"

Photo via Barsuk Records (Shervin Lainez)

In another BAM-related post, indie darlings Ra Ra Riot have released the title track off their upcoming album, Beta Love, due January 22. I caught this band back in February 2010 there as part of the Sounds Like Brooklyn festival, one of BAM's first forays into new music performances. (Allowing a young, hipster audience into the grand Howard Gilman Opera House was a novel idea back then!)  The group that filled the stage that night has been reduced to a quartet, which is not a bad idea given the flooded airways of large group jams by The Lumineers or Monsters and Men.  

"Beta Love" welcomes fans back into the fold with an introduction featuring Wes Miles' warm tenor.  Yet now it's over synths before a dance beat kicks begins and he floors it in falsetto, more like Michael Angelakos of tour mates Passion Pit.  It's a new direction to be sure, but it makes me just want to hear more. The band begins a national tour tonight, returning to their roots in Syracuse, NY where they met during their college days at Syracuse University (see other tour dates below). 




Beta Love Tracklist:

01. Dance with Me
02. Binary Mind
03. Beta Love
04. Is It Too Much
05. For Once
06. Angel, Please
07. What I Do For U
08. When I Dream
09. That Much
10. Wilderness
11. I Shut Off

Ra Ra Riot 2012-2013 Tour Dates:
11/14 – Syracuse, NY @ Setnor Auditorium (Syracuse University)
11/28 – Providence, RI @ Lupo’s *
11/29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Liacouras Center ^
12/08 – Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon #
12/09 – Hartford, CT @ Arch Street Tavern #
12/11 – Clifton Park, NY @ Upstate Concert Hall #
12/12 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place #
12/13 – Ithaca, NY @ Haunt #
01/23 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
01/25 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
01/26 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
02/02 – Tokyo, JP @ Hostess Club Weekender &
02/03 – Tokyo, JP @ Hostess Club Weekender &
02/07 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue
02/08 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theater
02/09 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
02/11 – San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore
02/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey
02/15 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up
02/16 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
02/17 – El Paso AZ @ Lowbrow Palace
02/19 – Dallas, TX @ Kessler Theater
02/20 – Austin, TX @ The Belmont
02/21 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
02/23 – Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s
02/24 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
02/25 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
02/26 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
02/28 – Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar
03/01 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
03/02 – Madison, WI @ Der Rathskeller
03/03 – Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
03/05 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig
03/06 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
03/07 – Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
03/08 – South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
03/09 – Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street

* = w/ Passion Pit and Joy Formidable
^ = w/ Passion Pit
# = w/ Guards
& = w/ Vampire Weekend and Ultraista