Hurray For The Riff Raff’s upcoming album The Navigator has ambition in spades. The New Orleans’ folksters have crafted a concept album that tells the story of a street kid trying to survive as she and her people are forced out of the neighborhoods they call home.
It’s heady, big-issue stuff for an Americana act to tackle and the band has responded by making their sound appropriately large. HFTRR just shared the title track from the album and it’s a mix of cinematic, lush strings and sultry horn sounds that introduces the character at the heart of their new album.
“Our street kid heroine is on a mission to ask the powers that be what the plan is for her people,” frontwoman and mastermind Alynda Segarra explained. “The people of color who are being forced out and demonized. Where will they go? Where will they live?”
Segarra says that the character is inspired by her own life and her ancestry as a Puerto Rican from the Bronx who spent time living on the street. She adds that she hopes her new album will inspire others to take up the cause and speak out for these disadvantaged people.
“We need thousands of Navigators to take the reins of history and steer us towards justice for all people,” she said. “The track we are on must change.”
Give it a listen up top. The Navigator drops on ATO Records on March 10. In the meantime, listen to Segarra’s amazing cover of “Be My Baby.”
