This evening I threw on a couple albums to keep me entertained as I finished up some work. I figured a few of them for good candidates to provide a song of the week that I could post when the day-job was finished. Little did I know what I was getting myself into, as Rah Rah’s Going Steady was among those chosen and there was no way the Regina band’s highly enjoyable debut was going to settle for a simple one-song post.

Diverse, melodic and engaging throughout, it became very clear to me as each song passed that Going Steady is an album that deserves a bit more attention than a “song of the week” can give. Thus, here I am at the mercy of spontaneous bloggerly inspiration, eagerly hyperbolizing Rah Rah for all to hear.

Be it the upbeat and ridiculous fun of “Tentacles,” the contemplative and alluring slow-burn of “Castles,” or the anthemic chanting of “Cuba/Peru” there’s a lot to like on Going Steady. Just when you think you’ve got the album pegged as an upbeat and explosive indie rock extravaganza (which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing) they throw in a curve-ball like the country-style romp of “My Guarantee” to keep you on your toes. Furthermore, the album is able to stay diverse without sacrificing an overall sense of identity. Throughout it all there’s an underlying  effervescence and intensity—like the whole thing is a stick of dynamite that’s actually made of crayons.

It’s easy to hear echoes of the usual suspects—all of whom are listed as influences on the band’s Myspace page—but Going Steady is anything but a tired run-through of indie-rock history. It’s playful (“If I shaved my head I would become a genius. So why don’t you shave your head? Too afraid that I’ll look like a penis”), and endearing, but also engaging and able to be taken seriously when it needs to be. Basically, Going Steady is a great candidate for repeated listens.

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Come to think of it, if Herohill gets around to making their Saskatchewan mixtape it’d be a real shame if Rah Rah weren’t on it (got that, Ack and Naedoo?).

Rah Rah - Tentacles

Hear more at the band’s Myspace page or grab a digital copy of Going Steady here.