Fusing cellos with keyboards and big vocal hooks, melodic chamber pop sextet Ra Ra Riot have long been compared to contemporaries like Vampire Weekend and Death Cab for Cutie. It's a fair assessment; not only have the Brooklyn-based band worked with producers affiliated with both outfits, but their catchy songs ooze sensitivity without ever treading too far into twee territory. It's been a successful recipe: After forming while still students at Syracuse University in 2006, the band has gone on to play South By Southwest music festival, toured with the likes of Art Brut and the Editors and garnered critical acclaim from the taste-making scribes at Pitchfork and Spin, the latter once hailing them as "one of the best young bands we've heard in a really long time."
The Feast recently hopped in a cab with three of the band's members, who added two new components to the latest episode of Backseat Live: synths and jean shorts. Lovely. Watch the catchy clip above of the trio performing "Boy," a single off their second studio effort, 2010's The Orchard, as they cruise through the sunny streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. And for those of you who can't get enough of the band's purposive pop, spy their schedule here to locate an upcoming show near you. [The Feast]
Original video shot by Amanda Martinez/NBCNewYork.com
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