Sunday, August 06, 2006
Ratatat: Classics
You know how you like an artist and you want more, you can't wait till they come out with more music because you just love that last album. Then you get it and its exactly the same as the last one and you're really disappointed. Yeah, that's Ratatat's Classics.

I've been a fan of Ratatat from the first listen of their self titled debut. They fill a wired niche as post-rock's answer to electronica or vice versa. Their Remixes Mixtape was thoroughly impressive and, like indie kids everywhere, it helped prime me to accept a new serving of hip-hop into my musical diet. So, needless to say I was pretty eager for the new Classics album coming out in late August.

I got my hands on it a couple of weeks ago and I've tried listening to it several times but I couldn't ever finish it. The album just doesn't seem to catch your attention at any point. They seem to have developed a formula for how their songs are structured and made an album base off that.

The album's opening track, "Montanita," is a tropical-flavored copy of "Spanish Armada." "Gettysburg" gets repetitive, with not enough breaks; especially considering that the builds are too short with not enough release. "Wildcat" uses a wild cat's screech a little too much. My jaded indie rock sensibilities (an oxymoron, I know) tell me that you should not be so literal in your music. Either don't name it "Wildcat" or cut the Spank Rock sounding sample out.

A few highlights do exist. "Lex" and "Nostrand" are standout tracks in the mostly boring album. And their appreciation of / experience in hip-hop production shows through a little in "Tropicana's" beats and "Kennedy's" drums and bass.

Their debut was in no way an energetic album, but they seem to have lost even that. Basically, the album is a sequel. More of the same without any ingenuity, without any growth. They lost most of the drive and complexity that made one appreciate Ratatat. Classics will probably be anything but.

Album hits stores August 22nd.
Untill then: Evidence.
Ratatat - Gettysburg
Ratatat - Lex
Ratatat - Nostrand
Posted by adrian on Sunday, August 06, 2006 at 6:19 PM |

I laughed when I first heard "Wildcat", and not in a good way. I'm going to give Classics one more listen, but I doubt I'll be keeping anything from it.

Posted by Blogger Ian | 8/07/2006 10:29 AM  

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