![RatatatLP4XL Recordings (2010)
Genre: IndieRating: B
After releasing their first two albums, Ratatat and Classics, Mike Stroud and Evan Mast might have asked themselves, “Well, what do we do now?” LP3 came next, and while it was different from what they’d done before, to an extent, it was transitional. The band was experimenting with sounds and textures that it had not used before, while many of the elements from the duo’s previous work was there. Now, LP4 is here. While much of it was written during the LP3 sessions, and while it’s obviously still a Ratatat record, it’s even further down the road, leaving much of the band’s previous work barely visible behind it.
In interviews, Stroud and Mast have called LP4 “weirder,” and it might be that, but more importantly, it’s an example of a band expanding its horizon and utilizing an expanding palette to write instrumental songs. Ratatat is no longer a band that plays guitars over pre-fab beats with the occasional synth melody. One of the main differences between Ratatat’s previous work and LP4 is the relative absence of those trademark guitars. They aren’t gone completely [Editor’s note: It seems these guys could never let go of that “reversed” guitar sound.], but where they would have been used previously, they are most times replaced with synthesizers.
One of the tracks showcasing the trade of guitars for synths and looping, bouncing samples—with the exception of a strummed acoustic near the middle—is the opening track, “Bilar,” a song that begins ominously before opening into a crunchy, biting beat that could easily have a home on either of the band’s two remix albums. The first minute and a half of this song seems ready and waiting for some borrowed hip-hop vocals to be woven into the mix.
The record also showcases meticulous detail that was paid to the percussion. Bigger, thumpier beats of the past have been traded for smaller, more delicate pattering percussion in many cases, which provide more dimension and depth to the songs. “Neckbrace” features a mesmerizing and strange element as its centerpiece—possibly a manipulated vocal track or a processed bass guitar. But whether we can figure out exactly what it is or isn’t that is making these sounds is not the point; whatever it is, it’s captivating and effective.
Ratatat, like many instrumental bands, has to keep finding ways of exciting its listeners in lieu of a standard vocal and lyrical presence, which many listeners depend on for variety in music. Throughout LP4, there are bits of what the band built its name on mixed with chunks of new sounds and techniques they’ve picked up along the way. These methods of making similar but new sounds is what has kept the duo’s music relevant, and is what will keep people coming back for more.
-Todd Miller
Listen:“Party With Children”
Ratatat on Last.fm](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l3brss5jaP1qaakoto1_250.png)
Ratatat
LP4
XL Recordings (2010)
Genre: Indie
Rating: B
After releasing their first two albums, Ratatat and Classics, Mike Stroud and Evan Mast might have asked themselves, “Well, what do we do now?” LP3 came next, and while it was different from what they’d done before, to an extent, it was transitional. The band was experimenting with sounds and textures that it had not used before, while many of the elements from the duo’s previous work was there. Now, LP4 is here. While much of it was written during the LP3 sessions, and while it’s obviously still a Ratatat record, it’s even further down the road, leaving much of the band’s previous work barely visible behind it.
In interviews, Stroud and Mast have called LP4 “weirder,” and it might be that, but more importantly, it’s an example of a band expanding its horizon and utilizing an expanding palette to write instrumental songs. Ratatat is no longer a band that plays guitars over pre-fab beats with the occasional synth melody. One of the main differences between Ratatat’s previous work and LP4 is the relative absence of those trademark guitars. They aren’t gone completely [Editor’s note: It seems these guys could never let go of that “reversed” guitar sound.], but where they would have been used previously, they are most times replaced with synthesizers.
One of the tracks showcasing the trade of guitars for synths and looping, bouncing samples—with the exception of a strummed acoustic near the middle—is the opening track, “Bilar,” a song that begins ominously before opening into a crunchy, biting beat that could easily have a home on either of the band’s two remix albums. The first minute and a half of this song seems ready and waiting for some borrowed hip-hop vocals to be woven into the mix.
The record also showcases meticulous detail that was paid to the percussion. Bigger, thumpier beats of the past have been traded for smaller, more delicate pattering percussion in many cases, which provide more dimension and depth to the songs. “Neckbrace” features a mesmerizing and strange element as its centerpiece—possibly a manipulated vocal track or a processed bass guitar. But whether we can figure out exactly what it is or isn’t that is making these sounds is not the point; whatever it is, it’s captivating and effective.
Ratatat, like many instrumental bands, has to keep finding ways of exciting its listeners in lieu of a standard vocal and lyrical presence, which many listeners depend on for variety in music. Throughout LP4, there are bits of what the band built its name on mixed with chunks of new sounds and techniques they’ve picked up along the way. These methods of making similar but new sounds is what has kept the duo’s music relevant, and is what will keep people coming back for more.
-Todd Miller
Listen:
“Party With Children”
