Ratboys
Chicago's Ratboys color their sauntering, reflective indie rock with distortion and hints of rustic alt-country. After emerging with their first EP, the homespun Ratboy, in 2015, they fleshed out their palette, adding pedal steel, strings, and more by the time they recorded their second full-length, 2017's GN. Released in 2023, their fourth album, the Chris Walla-produced The Window, found them expanding their indie toolbox further, with instruments such as rototoms and talk boxes in the mix.
Ratboys founding members Julia Steiner and David Sagan met as freshman at the University of Notre Dame and had begun recording together by the end of the school year. By their sophomore year, they were performing at private shows, at first as an acoustic duo. Swerp Records issued their debut EP, Ratboy, in 2012. By the time they graduated (Steiner in 2014 and Sagan a year later), they had gone electric, added bassist William Lange and drummer Jordan Parel to the lineup, and signed with Topshelf Records. The label released Ratboys' debut album, AOID, in June 2015. With stops in the U.S. and Europe, they toured for over a year in support of the record, adding trumpet player Cody Owens to the group and replacing Parel with drummer Pat Kennedy along the way.
Without relinquishing their easygoing mix of jangle and distortion, they had friends contribute instruments like pedal steel, accordion, and strings to their second album, 2017's GN (short for "goodnight"). It featured Sean Neumann on bass and Danny Lyons on drums. The heartache-themed EP GL ("good luck") followed a year later. Ratboys' third long-player, Printer's Devil, arrived on Topshelf in February 2020. Recorded live at Decade Music Studios in Chicago with co-producer Erik Rasmussen, it saw the core duo joined by Neumann and drummer Marcus Nuccio (Dowsing, Pet Symmetry). An album of re-recorded early songs, Happy Birthday, Ratboy, emerged in April 2021 amid a series of COVID-19-prompted online performances.
The group headed to a studio outside of Chicago for the first time in order to record their fourth album with producer Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie) in Seattle. Further expanding their sound and stylistic reach to include plaintive folk, warm country-rock, and fuzzy guitar pop while incorporating sounds like rototoms and additional effects, The Window arrived on Topshelf in August 2023.
© Marcy Donelson /TiVo
Discography
17 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Printer's Devil
Rock - Released by Topshelf Records on Feb 28, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
GN
Alternative & Indie - Released by Topshelf Records on Jun 30, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Happy Birthday, Ratboy
Alternative & Indie - Released by Topshelf Records on Apr 1, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Go Outside
Alternative & Indie - Released by Topshelf Records on Mar 1, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Jam in the Van - Ratboys (Live Session) (Live in Austin,TX 2019)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Jam in the Van LLC on Feb 22, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ratboys | Audiotree Far Out
Alternative & Indie - Released by Audiotree Music on Jan 1, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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AOID
Alternative & Indie - Released by Topshelf Records on Jun 9, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Ratboys on Audiotree Live
Alternative & Indie - Released by Audiotree Music on Jun 29, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Not Again
Alternative & Indie - Released by Topshelf Records on Apr 8, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
GL (8-Bit Version)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Topshelf Records on Sep 21, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo