Albums to watch

The Past Is Still Alive

Hurray For The Riff Raff

The Past Is Still Alive

Ninth album from the Americana group led by Brooklyn born, New Orleans-based banjo player Alynda Lee Segarra featuring contributions from Brad Cook, Phil Cook, Meg Duffy, S.G. Goodman, Mike Mogis and Conor Oberst

ADM rating[?]

8.4

Label
Nonesuch
UK Release date
23/02/2024
US Release date
23/02/2024
  1. 10.0 |   The Irish Times

    Angry, anxious, vulnerable and stunningly good
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  2. 10.0 |   Evening Standard

    Alynda Segarra invites listeners into their world of refined Americana with open arms
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  3. 9.5 |   Paste Magazine

    Alynda Segarra returns triumphantly to folk influences for their eighth album, with radical honesty and an explorative focus on solidarity
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  4. 9.0 |   PopMatters

    Hurray for the Riff understands that we are all part of the same world and share the same past. The past may be alive, but that doesn’t make us zombies
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  5. 9.0 |   All Music

    The remarkable thing about The Past Is Still Alive is that it never feels despairing: the warmth offers solace and companionship, even suggesting there's a future beyond the end of the world
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  6. 9.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    The Past Is Still Alive is a remarkable album, one which achieves the impossible trick of capturing the mood of a nation and a vivid portrait of a single fascinating person – all within one gorgeous stew
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  7. 9.0 |   musicOMH

    Stirring ambition writ large from one of this generation’s best singer-songwriters, with guest spots from Meg Baird and Conor Oberst
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  8. 8.5 |   Beats Per Minute

    Their tunesmithery is crystalline, their lyricism freewheeling yet precisely penned, and their voice as evocative yet relaxed as ever
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  9. 8.3 |   Pitchfork

    Alynda Segarra’s fantastic new album revives the folky textures of previous records to grapple with American myths and tragedies. It’s part folk-punk memoir, part spiritual invocation
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  10. 8.0 |   God Is In The TV

    Another winner. This band can do no wrong
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  11. 8.0 |   Clash

    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
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  12. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    On their latest album 'The Past Is Still Alive,' Alynda Segarra integrates their many musical selves into a brilliant singer-songwriter record
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  13. 8.0 |   Exclaim

    It doesn’t just sound like wild west Americana — it feels that way, drawn from a life’s worth of experience and adoration of the genre. It’s the album that Segarra’s been building toward since they first picked up a guitar
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  14. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    The latest from Alynda Segarra's shapeshifting outfit is calm and assured, but no less powerful for it
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  15. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Heavy though it is, the songwriting remains remarkably light and agile. Print edition only

  16. 8.0 |   Uncut

    They make a welcome return to the looser, roots sound of earlier albums. Print edition only

  17. 8.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Alynda Segarra continues to ground urgent messaging in personal and vulnerable storytelling
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  18. 8.0 |   The Observer

    The US singer-songwriter reminisces about their runaway past and loved ones lost on their folk-inflected ninth album
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  19. 7.5 |   Spectrum Culture

    The riff raff that made up Alynda Segarra's mobile community at the time takes shape on The Past is Still Alive, as do both the trials and joys of living on the margins
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