Part art-punk, part absurdist theater, and with a strong dose of "undefined," London trio
Ravioli Me Away (
RMA) are as entertaining as they are off-putting. Sian Dorrer, Rosie Ridgeway, and Alice Theobald made their debut in 2014 with The Inevitable Album, a confrontational slab of spiky, clattering, lo-fi pop weirdness. A refreshingly guitarless event, they made their statements with lumbering, almost tribal drum patterns, hefty bass, and disjointed smatterings of scuffed-up Casio keyboard tones. Their follow-up, 2016's
Living Is a Myth, follows a similar trajectory, bopping further down the rabbit hole with its punky alternate-dimension clatter.
RMA's press release describes them as "agents, pointing out phenomenon and responding to it," which is a fairly apt take on their cerebral song style. The tracks are generally brief and immediate, with repetitive motifs that make the hooks, odd as they are, really stand out. While little about
RMA's DNA is obvious, echoes of post-punk can be heard in their tonality, and their minimalist herky-jerky arrangements recall early
B-52s, an influence further implied by their musical quotation of "Rock Lobster" on the opening track, "Wow." The stuttering march of "Goblin Town" is pure loony fun, as is the quasi-mystical attack of "Hot Heavy Horses." Two of the album's best highlights, however, are sandwiched right in the middle with the darkly philosophical title track proclaiming "don't be scared because you're constantly dying" followed by the cold combativeness of "Ultimate Destruction." With their political and feminist undertones,
RMA are far more than just a strange lark, but their balance of intensity and offbeat lunacy makes for a surprisingly nimble pairing. ~ Timothy Monger