LIFE ON EARTH
Life on Earth is a departure for the New Orleans-based Segarra (they/she). Its eleven new “nature punk” tracks on the theme of survival are music for a world in flux—songs about thriving, not just surviving, while disaster is happening. For their eighth full-length album, Segarra drew inspiration from The Clash, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Bad Bunny, and the author of Emergent Strategy, adrienne maree brown. Recorded during the pandemic, Life on Earth was produced by Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Bon Iver, Kevin Morby). Life on Earth has received critical praise already, appearing on most anticipated records of 2022 lists by NPR, Pitchfork, the Guardian, Stereogum, the Observer, Vulture, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, the Evening Standard, and the Irish Times, among others. The Guardian says, “What’s most impressive about Life on Earth is the way Segarra metabolises bleak and disturbing subjects into songs that brim with hope, beauty and cheer,” while the Observer says, “Hurray for the Riff Raff promises a manual for Life on Earth, a ‘nature punk’ album for tough times,” and NPR’s Ann Powers says, “If you need some music to take you forward in this strange winter, I think Life on Earth is gonna do it for you.” Mojo, in its four-star review, calls it “a remarkably delicate, tender record full of gentle empathy, of lines that ring with the truth of shared experience. Hurray for The Riff Raff might not be able to save the world, but Life on Earth is a compassionate, humane record at a time when it can only be a gift.”
Alynda Segarra’s powerful eighth album exudes a glorious irreverence. Their self-described “nature punk” songs are both intimate and immense, and they’ve never sounded more honest or self-possessed.
The first album from the folk-punk outfit in 5 years has plenty of gems, but loses some consistency amid the paeans to nature and nomads
Hurray For The Riff Raff breaks out the stadium-ready choruses for Life on Earth
The New Orleans folk artist gives audiences hope and survival tools on their latest album.
The self-described “nature punk” is sounding readier than ever for crossover success
Life on Earth perhaps could be seen as a nod to how The Navigator, the 2017 album from Alynda Segarra, aka Hurray for the Riff Raff, owed a slight debt to David Bowie, the patron saint of interstellar rock & roll.
The New York rocker is back in New Orleans on a compelling album that engages deeply with a world in turmoil
With ‘Life on Earth,’ Hurray for the Riff Raff has achieved something truly enviable: a fresh start. Read our review.
Hurray for the Riff Raff's new songs explore different survival strategies one can take to endure and thrive during our short 'Life on Earth'.