Hurray for the Riff Raff (aka Alynda Segarra) stopped by KEXP in Seattle at the start of the month while on tour to perform four songs from their Nonesuch debut album, LIFE ON EARTH: “Pierced Arrows,” “Pointed at the Sun,” “Saga,” and “Rhododendron.” Segarra was joined by Howe Pearson on keys and bass, Matt Peterson on keys and guitar, and Yan Westerlund on drums. You can watch the session, including Segarra’s conversation with host Cheryl Waters, here:

Life on Earth is a departure for the New Orleans-based Segarra. 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, 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.”

HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF ON TOUR

* w/Bright Eyes
** w/Mitski