W.S. Walcott Medicine Show

01. Hurray For The Riff Raff – The Past Is Still Alive

As hard as this top albums of the year was for me in 2024, my choice for number one was neer really in doubt.  Hurray For The Riff Raff’s sixth official LP (Alynda Segura has self released several others via bandcamp), The Past Is Still Alive struck a chord with me right from the get go.  Upon first listen, it was clear to me that Segura’s return to a folkier, americana style brought forth a near perfect album.  As an interesting sidenote, around the time of the release back in February, I recall hearing Alynda say on (I believe) Craig Finn’s podcast that as a queer Puerto Rican, they did not feel comfortable in the Americana musical space which they had carved out for themselves with the earlier albums.  As such, there was the move to a more indie, more poppier sound which we heard on the The Navigator and Life On Earth Albums. HFTRR, however, at this point in their career felt the time was right to drift back into that space, that they had now reached a point in their career, where the genre was indeed a safe place for them to rest their proverbial hat.  All of that being said, Alynda finding their comfort zone with the more rootsy style of The Past Is Still Alive proved to be huge boon to their fans.  Opening track,  “Alibi” starts off with a gentle acoustic guitar strum as the backdrop for the words “you don’t have to die if you don’t want to die, maybe I have something left that’s worth a try” which to me sums up this album just about perfectly.  Its a return to the roots for Alynda, a place where there was unfinished business to complete (and if not complete, at least continue).   And most importantly, this return to form could only be accomplished with a comfort in self.  The Past Is Still Alive is Segura coming to grips with their past, a past which had many dark periods, dark periods that ultimately made them who they are.  With the song “Hawkwind” we hear about life on the road as a fellow traveler.  It’s a song that doesn;t hide the seedier side of this life but with its transparent clarity we also see the beauty of what it must have been like to live day to day on the road not necessarily to nowhere but more like being on the road to ANYwhere.  The album is filled from start to finish with beautifully crafted vignettes about life, love, triumph and defeat.  Segura and the band present each and everyone of these songs with grace and truly masterful musicianship, from the rocking guitar licks on “Vetiver” to lilting pedal steal guitar on closing track “Ogalalla” the band and Segura in particular have found themselves in their comfort zone.  To close this out, it would be an injustice to the absolute wonderment of this album if I didn’t mention my favorite track (and probably my favorite song by ANYONE in 2024), “The World Is Dangerous”.  First off, the harmonies between Alynda and Conor Oberst are simply transcendent in their presentation.   But what makes them so special is their representation of a lovelorn melancholy for days of yorn all the while facing the reality that despite tough days ahead, they will nonetheless prove victorious over the dangerous days to follow.