Formed by Julia Steiner and Dave Sagan while still attending school in South Bend, Indiana, Ratboys is also that wonderful combination of underappreciated Midwest power-pop, alternative country, and “aww-shucks” ambition, and they also feel like a very very big deal to me. I first encountered them when I heard the single “Elvis in the Freezer,” and everything about that track which hooked my ear lobes is reconstituted for primetime on their third LP, Printer’s Devil.
Like getting your ear-ring caught in the zipper of your windbreaker, it’s extremely difficult to untangle yourself from the hooky, heart-string plucking melodies without taking a moment to appreciate the situation for both its simplicity and how deceptive inescapability. For me, the lush, pinch-hitting country wallop of “Alien With A Sleep Mask On” put the boredom of my quarter-life crisis on life support with the first clash of its jangly, perky chords. Likewise, “Look To” slides into sight with the implacable charm and confidence of Cheap Trick playing a friend’s barbeque after coming home from Budokan, and “Anj” brims with a comparable level of unspurned, heart-string bound, electric exuberance. Quieter moments like “I Go Out At Night” brings them closer to the subtle, soft-focus sparkle of contemporaries like Charly Bliss, while the crinkly, intricate, and sedge lined “A Vision” puts them at the forefront of this generation’s folk revival.
Someone (else) attributed the Ratboys's success to their heavy touring schedule with indie-passing-pop-punk bands like PUP and Dowsing, and while their connections have certainly contributed to their success, their talent stands out as singularly exceptional and noteworthy without these associations. And frankly, even if they never left Chicago, they’d still be a big deal to me.
Grab a copy of Printer's Devil from Top Shelf here.
*I have other opinions about Wilco that are less flattering that I do not plan to share here.
