After leaving the Bronx at the age of 17, Alynda Segarra hopped freight trains across North America. She settled in New Orleans eventually and soon after formed the Americana band Hurray For The Riff Raff, for which she's been the principal singer-songwriter. The Navigator is the 6th full-length from Segarra and co., and it is a concept album written around an alter ego named Navita, who she describes as a "17-year-old girl who is Puerto Rican and lives in "The City." It's not difficult to miss the parallels here, and surely, plenty of BX stories of past and calls for action in the present take a central role on the 12-tracker: "Colonized and hypnotized / Be something." It's a full-circle, back-to-the-roots attempt that avoids cliche-like tropes, and songs like "Pa'lante," "Rican Beach," "Life To Save," "Living In The City," and "Entrance" provide a powerful & refreshing take on personal, political, and societal subjects backed by stripped down, mostly acoustic instrumentation. This is the limited-edition white vinyl pressing, and it includes a credit booklet, 11x14 two-sided poster, and digital download card.

• limited-edition white vinyl pressing
• 11x14 poster
• digital download included
• music label: ATO Records 2017

reviewed by enbee 02/2017