Ratatat was a mostly unknown band a year and a half ago. When I showed my friends Alex and Bowman their song "Seventeen Years" they just mocked the drum beat and asked me why I listened to keyboard music that sounded like it was written for Tekken. Well, now things are a little different. Everyone that was at their show last year at Emo's knows that Ratatat does use real guitars and they also really know how to melt peoples' smiling faces with them.
This is the Ratatat I knew when I went to Waterloo to buy the long awaited arrival of LP3. When I put my needle to the groove, however, I was greeted by something altogether different. They manage to stray from their dance-beat a little bit and explore their more sensitive side, if you can say it, without neutering their sound. Almost like Ratatat traded in their tall tees for tight jeans and American Apparel hoodies.
Generally speaking, LP3 relies a lot more on tone and color than their previous albums. This transition doesn't just come out of the blue, though. In fact, there are lots of moments from their older work that seem like they would fit in this album well. The piano melody from "Loud Pipes" relies on the beauty of its tone as much as just about every sound on LP3 does. Even songs like "Gettysburg" or "Tropicana" seem right at home with the new arrival.
A lot of things have changed about Ratatat since I first obsessed over their self-titled album way back when and it only follows that so should their choice of venue. They will be playing September 15th at the Stubb's outdoor stage, a noticeable upgrade from their last show in Austin at Emo's. One thing my friends who saw the show in Denver on September 2nd have assured me is that Ratatat's reputation for a quality show remains intact as it ever was, if not even more so. Portland based artists E*Rock and Panther will open, tickets are $15 and doors will be at 7pm.
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