Wall of Voodoo might well have been little more than a blip on the New Wave radar of the late '70s and early '80s if it hadn't been for the hypnotic menace of frontman Stan Ridgway. His subsequent solo work has run the gamut from dark Pop songs with a filmic quality to weirdly ambient soundscapes to actual film scores.  

Any band's sophomore album is a natural evolutionary talking point and generally regarded as proof of the old musical adage that a band takes its whole life to make its first album and nine months to make the second. In the case of Ra Ra Riot, the evolution is more complex and tragically steered. Three years ago, the Syracuse, N.Y., sextet was riding high on an intense media buzz after glowing reviews for their eponymous six-track debut EP, but the ride came to an abrupt end when drummer/lyricist John Pike drowned in the midst of what should have been a triumphant tour.