Ratatat
http://www.ratatatmusic.com
styles: hard-groovin' instrumental fare
others: Mum, M83, Savath + Savalas, Four Tet
 Classics
XL, 2006
rating: 3.5/5
reviewer: grantpurdumthegumshoe
On long drives to the lake as a kid, there was a song that would always grace
the family station-wagon radio, the one that goes, "Every time I try to tell
you/ The words just come out wrong/ So I'll try to say I love you/ In a song."
Ratatat, though they don't croon, are so indebted to this line of thinking that
they might as well have Jim Croce tattoo'd on their skinny white asses.
Classics, much like 'tat's self-titled debut, is a uniform experiment in
instrumentation-as-expression, the layercake of synths, guitars and hip-hop-ish
beats intimating moods we all thought we needed diction to get across.
The general feeling seems to be that Ratatat's music has two mutually exclusive
characteristics. First, the albums play out really well from start to finish
with little deviation or lag time. Second, Ratatat's compositions, while very
easy to glom onto, have a ceiling. They are fun and light, but at the end of the
day, they can only lift you so high before you scrape your head on the asbestos.
While the duo have shown an inborn understanding of non-verbal communication,
the very tool they use to lure new listeners — exceedingly one-note,
warm-sounding arrangements — is what leaves them on the rack when you need
something you can pay your full, undivided attention to.
So let's just enjoy them for what they are. For all the technology they bring to
the table, Ratatat are soulful and savvy, putting everything in its right place
and locking the listener in. You can chortle at the random gimmicks — the tiger
yelps of "Wildcat," for instance — but tracks like "Gettysburg" will brighten
the corners of your day by hitting just the right tones, just the right notes.
Sure, you could ask for more with so many musical options out there, but you
could also do much, much worse.
1. Montanita
2. Lex
3. Gettysburg
4. Wildcat
5. Tropicana
6. Loud Pipes
7. Kennedy
8. Swisha
9. Nostrand
10. Tacobel Canon
 Ratatat
XL, 2004
rating: 3.5/5
reviewer: matty g
This album is good. I think. I haven't actually listened to the whole thing yet.
See, every time I try and sit down and listen to it, something comes up.
Everything from old friends calling me up and wanting to get lunch to a giant
storm knocking out my power for a few days. So I'm going to start playing it
right now, and hopefully the forces that be will notice that I'm writing about
it and leave me alone for the next 45 minutes.
The one good thing that's come out of these constant interruptions is that I've
had the chance to listen to the first half of this album at least ten times. So
with a fair amount of certainty, I can safely say that this album gets tired
after that many listens in a short period of time. But then again, I don't think
I've heard any album that I can listen to ten times in three weeks and not get
sick of. So I'm not going to hold that against Ratatat.
After all of those listens, I've also been able to get past the deceptive
opener. "Seventeen Years" kicks things off with a fast-paced, house-rockin'
dance party. But things immediately slow down on the second song and stay
subdued throughout most of the album. Once I realized that the rest of the songs
weren't going to be as blazing as "Seventeen Years," I was able to enjoy it much
more.
In fact, not only is the rest of the album as upbeat as the opener, but it's
almost on the melancholy side of things. Evan Mast creates dense atmospheres
with his synthesizers (among other things) that almost give off a faint sense of
foreboding. But while Mast is creating a murky layer of near-sorrow, Mike Stroud
wields his guitar to create a faint glimmer of hope among its gloomy
surroundings. His thick leads intertwine with Mast's synths to create a syrupy,
gelatinous sound. A sound that is both familiar and new at the same time; you've
heard most of the tricks on here before, but not really put together like this.
Stroud and Mast are definitely in their own lo-fi corner of the universe, even
if that corner looks familiar.
And with that I have finally made it through Ratatat's debut offering. And not a
moment to soon, as it is now thundering like mad out and multiple tornado
warnings have just been issued for my area. At least it waited until I was done
this time.
1. Seventeen Years
2. El Pico
3. Crips
4. Desert Eagle
5. Everest
6. Bustelo
7. Breaking Away
8. Lapland
9. Germany to Germany
10. Spanish Armada
11. Cherry
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