Ratatat - Classics

Genre rock Publisher XL Recordings External Links Official Ratatat Website Official XL Recordings Website

Combining rock, hip-hop and electronica would appear to make for a strange mix, and upon first listen to Ratatat's new release Classics, the average listener might still be a bit unsure of what to make of this amalgamation. Unless you caught them while the duo was on tour with Franz Ferdinand or Interpol, it's highly possible that you've never even heard of Ratatat, but all that could easily change as word gets out about Classics.

Ratatat is comprised of Evan Mast and Mike Stroud, both of whom have extensive experience working with other artists including Ben Kweller, Dashboard Confessional and E*Vax. Mast is the brains behind the laptop-based compositions and Stroud is responsible for the sharp guitar-work and what results is an unusual but oddly addictive mix. Ratatat newbies need to be forewarned that not one of the ten songs on Classics features vocals, so if you think this will be an album you can pop in the car CD player and sing along to, you're going to be sorely disappointed.

That said, there are still a lot of interesting things going on here. The opener, "Montanita" pulls together some pretty acoustic guitar work and drum loops. Sure, it's still technically electronica, but it's hardly the sort that will make the listener feel like they're about to have a seizure. House music this is not.

"Wildcat" is likely to be the song that gets the most press and it clearly leans more on the electronic side of things than a song like "Montanita" does. The song is somewhat repetitive with an ongoing sample of a lion or tiger's roar which is a little on the gimmicky side, but Stroud's funky guitar work keeps the song from verging into the cheesy.

"Kennedy" is another standout on Classics and its faster tempo prevents the song from verging into ambient house territory, which happens on some of the other tracks. The strong bass line, maracas and tambourine are what help make "Kennedy" striking and fun. Obviously, if all the songs on the album had this sort of sound, it would be a case of too much of a good thing, but it might not have hurt if some of them had a little more vigor.

The album's last song, "Tacobel Canon" gets points right off the bat for just having a fantastically tongue-in-cheek title. There is a sense that the song is inspired by Johann Pachebel's ubiquitous wedding song, but the similarity is very subtle. While the title is clever, the song itself isn't much to write home about and there are undoubtedly better slow songs earlier on the album such as "Swisha," another track that works in acoustic guitar to good effect. However, "Tacobel Canon" was probably a bit of a weak choice for the final track and ends up being relatively forgettable.

Classics may not get radio-play on the local indie music station, but that isn't to say Mast and Stroud haven't come up with something unique musically.