The Rats are back ! No kids . I'm not talking about the Boomtown Rats. I mean Chicago's Ratboys. Frequent suspects on It Starts With a Birthstone going back over ten years and six albums and planting a flag early in 2026 with latest album Singin ' To an Empty Chair.
It's an object of purity, risk and wonder. Ratboys specialise in this currency. They approach songs as if they're lifting curious objects from a desk and holding them up to the light and observing them from a range of angles. Shaking a snowglobe. Holding up a child's kaleidoscope to ceiling and re-experiencing the wonder of being a child.
Another early contender . 2026 is only forty days in and already I have 30 LPs on My Albums of the Year playlist. We may not have made it to Spring technically but judging by this we have a collective spring in our step.
Ratboys continue to punch above their weight and be contenders. This is a blistering record. Last Splash meet Courtney Barnett at the crossroads. And the consequence was; a fine time being had by one and all.
Thanks for the reminder, Bruce! Despite following them for a few years, and listening to the singles, I somehow missed the album release. On it now!
ReplyDeleteI think it and they are brilliant, Darren. Good to see their profile growing. I have quite a few good things up my sleeve. Always curious as to what you're listening to.
Delete