The candid nature of their extensive back catalogue has meant that Hurray For The Riff Raff’s Alynda Segarra has already provided listeners with a stark insight into their personal history. Raised in the Bronx before a youth spent hopping trains found them settling in New Orleans, Segarra’s prominence in the folk scene allowed them space to lay themselves bare in song.
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And yet, on ‘The Past Is Still Alive’ we are treated to a thoroughly different experience, where Segerra not only visits, but interrogates her past; stitching together the links between broken beginnings and malfunctioning adulthood. Nestled amongst some of her most nuanced and carefully placed moments of Americana and joined by a host of backing singers and musicians from Connor Oberst to Hand Habits‘ Meg Duffy, Segarra manages to take solace in the fact that while we are victims of our formative years, there is always scope to heal.
8/10
Words: Craig Howieson
Dig This? Dig Deeper: Waxahatchee, Townes Van Zandt, Courtney Marie Andrews
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