Album Review: Hurray For The Riff Raff - Small Town Heroes

New Orleans-based Hurray For The Riff Raff coalesced around the writing of Bronx-bred ex-punk Alynda Lee Segarra, the resultant timeless Americana so authentic they scored a Treme guest spot. Acoustic guitar dominates (augmented by trad instrumentation like fiddle, banjo and piano) but it's Segarra's sultry, expressive voice which carries these personal tracks, veering from world-weary (St. Roch Blues, murder ballad The Body Electric) to celebratory (End Of The Line, No One Else) with consummate ease. In these hands the music of the past has a bright future indeed.