Syracuse, N.Y., band Ra Ra Riot returned to the CPR Performance Studio this month before a headlining show at Denver's Bluebird Theater. The band's fourth album, "Need Your Light," finds the group blending the string-laden baroque pop of their early catalog with the '80s synthesizer vibes of their more recent output.
The band played four songs from "Need Your Light," including two songs co-written by former Vampire Weekend member Rostam Batmanglij.
The members also spoke with OpenAir's Jeremy Petersen about reaching their 10th year as a band, the shifts in their sound over the years and the high-energy music of "Need Your Light."
Stream the session and watch video of "Foreign Lovers" above and see interview highlights and more videos below.
Singer Wes Miles on the up-tempo energy of "Need Your Light":
"We did a little house party tour in the end of 2014 in the middle of making this record, which kind of helped make some of the choices of this record about the energy of the songs. That's why there's not really a low-energy song on the record. We decided to exploit our greatest strength -- which is just making noise."
On being a band for more than a decade:
"We know each other better every time we go out. While we know the things that can really set each other off, we don't exploit them too much. Maybe getting older is part of that too. ... We're more willing to work around each other's pet peeves."
Songs performed:
- "Foreign Lovers"
- "Absolutely"
- "Water"
- "I Need Your Light"
"Absolutely"
