The Julia Steiner-led Ratboys have been quietly putting out high quality content for the past dozen years. Their last full length of new material, “Printer’s Devil”, came out at an inopportune moment (February 2020), which makes their return with “The Window” all that more of a moment to celebrate. And celebrate, The Window does well. Whether the spotlight is on Mother Earth “It’s Alive”, being spitting mad “Empty”, or lives well lived “The Window”, Steiner knows no mode other than wearing her heart on her sleeve. Here with a production assist from Chris Walla (formerly of Death Cab for Cutie), every song is a set piece with its own distinct dynamic and every single one of them is fantastic. For a band that already had a well-earned pedigree,
There are approximately 11 very good songs on Ratboys’ newest record “The Window”, but there are two that best illustrate what this band can do better than almost any other on this, or any other, list. “Black Earth, WI” arrived back in March, a few months before the group even announced the album proper, and it immediately entered the pantheon of this decade’s rush on rootsy, twangy indie-rock epics, gliding through its eight-minute runtime like a boozy August night laid bare.
Then, in June, they hit us with the record’s devastating title track. Subdued and sweet, “The Window” is vocalist Julia Steiner at her best, presenting an achingly personal love story through the prism of the catchiest indie rock released this year.
Ratboys are a band of tight hooks and catchy melodies, but it’s the specificity of their song writing that makes the project so endlessly endearing. For a band that arrived so fully formed nearly a decade ago, they continue to outdo themselves with every release. “The Window” will be hard to top, but I don’t think we have any reason to doubt them.
The Fat Angel Sings 