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I've got a hazy, margarita-soaked memory of seeing Ra Ra Riot at SxSw last year. I'd planted myself on a curb to absorb the boozy, rockin' debauchery all around me, and realized I was suddenly somehow front and center for this band I'd never heard of, pogoing all over the goddamned place and kicking the shit out of a short but hyperactively awesome set. Have you ever seen a pretty girl jumping around while shredding on a violin? It's a strange and wonderful sensation. 

I can't relate to pomp-pop hysteria. The Shins never did anything for me, even after Natalie Portman put 'em on a mixtape in Garden State and everybody freaked the hell out. But Ra Ra Riot is something different- they fit the structural formula, but certainly not the style. There's a majestic kind of charm to what they do, a pretense-free earnest submission to the sound that their peers- bands like Vampire Weekend and Arcade Fire- clearly lack.

For The Rhumb Line, their full-length debut, they polished up four songs from last year's promising self-titled EP, building on their foundations with a more confident determination. Producer Ryan Hadlock helped guitarist Milo Bonacci and bassist Mathieu Santos add cleaner tones and intensified hooks, while Rebecca Zeller and Alexandra Lawn- on violin and cello, respectively- add texture without overwrought thickness.

"Ghost Under Rocks" is just about the most captivating introduction a band can make on an album. A punchy, throbbing cello line introduces stuttering drums and harmonic 'oooh'-ing that ignites an inevitable gravity of interest in what's coming.

There's an earnest sense of aching in the melodies, which combined with the presence of cello and violin adds an anchor of sweetly sad depth to even the most upbeat songs. Wesley Miles' thin tenor takes some of the weight out of the atmosphere, however, bringing a brighter outlook to melancholy arrangements.

The undercurrent of mourning is anything but theatrics. Last summer John Ryan Pike- the band's drummer and songwriting cornerstone of Rhumb Line- drowned in the ocean after a show in Massachusetts. His death is a strong presence on the album, despite the uptempo nature of most of the tracks. "Take Dying Is Fine," for example. It's an eerie listen, especially since Pike co-wrote the song.

Buoyancy suits the rest of the band much more than dreary reflection, however. The dichotomy works in bizarre ways here, but they're effective. I can't stand when reviewers tinsel up their descriptives with abstracts like 'effervescent,' but that's exactly what this band is- fizzy and bubbly, even in the face of mortality and loss. It's a multilayered, engaging, carbonated good time.

It's wonderful to hear endearing alt-pop melodies and clever structures delivered free of pretense. There's an endearing Lennon / McCartney feel to "Winter '05," complete with sleigh bells as hypnotic as they are gratuitous. Their cover of Kate Bush's "Suspended In Gaffa" is a chin-up contender for better-than-original status, while "Too Too Too Fast" is almost too cute, sounding like a collaboration between the Strokes and Rilo Kiley.

Water imagery shares the spotlight with mortality on The Rhumb Line, and I can't decide if that's creepy or a really great tribute to one of their fallen. The vivid sense of loss that resonates throughout their sound is balanced with an air of optimism and determination, as if they began to realize while recording that they could channel the tragedy into a strength rather than be overshadowed by it. As a result they seem to have grown to something bigger.

Part of what makes The Rhumb Line so engaging is that it comes from a place of authentic rawness. When Miles sings We've got a lot to learn from each other / We've got to stick together on Oh, La, he doesn't come off trite. By the end of the record he's declaring I've discovered all I've got to do; a simple testament to the band's perseverance and ability to focus on the now.

Ensemble indie-pop seems to be catching on these days. Bands expand their lineups with several decidedly non-rock instruments like cellos, violins, double bass, trash cans, washboards, brasses and God knows what else. They mix pop and folk harmonies with jazzy on-stage improvisation, and the result is usually either a self-indulgent mess or a whiny collective of pretense. Conor Oberst has explored and transcended both those chasms with his traveling band of gypsies and vagabonds for years now, showing the kids how to do it right.

Ra Ra Riot couldn't be less related to Oberst and Co., but they're kings of their own class in the same school- just on the brighter side of the scale. What matters is that The Rhumb Line holds together, not only as a memorial to Pike but as an affirmation of Ra Ra Riot's determination to endure. They're an awesome live band, one that's bound to continue growing and finding their way in the studio. Keep an eye on these guys.10. Run My Mouth

CraveOnline Rating: 8 out of 10